Surrogate
by brit02
Summary: Megumi asked Kaoru to be her surrogate, and not long is she bewitched by her 'baby's daddy'. With his bright red hair and violet eyes, Kenshin is everything Kaoru never expected, or dreamed of. Fluffy. KK, SM, AM. 20 years into the future.
1. The Proposal

This is just an idea I had while in the car. I don't know how long I'm going to take it; it'll depend on the response it gets. Also, I'm gonna concentrate most of my energies on my other rk fic...

That reminds me, from now on, I DON'T OWN ANYTHING. RK ISN'T MINE, NEITHER ARE THE CHARACTERS.

This is placed approximately 20 years into the future (2030...whoa doesn't that seem so far away? O.o) So any assumptions I make are fully justified ;] It's also in Kaoru's pov for the whole fic, unless I say it isn't, k?

* * *

What first attracted me to her was that she looked so out of place. With her diamond-drop earrings and necklace, her brown satin blouse and tailored jeans and high heels, she was not the typical _Target _customer. She was more the Dolce-and-Gabbana, Chanel wearing woman. Her black hair was let loose around slim shoulders and dark Versace glasses framed her eyes. Her bright red lipstick stood out on her pale face. She looked to be a few years older than I, but I don't know if that is because of plastic surgery, make-up, or both.

I approached her, like the helpful clerk I am, and asked if she needed help. She pushed her sunglasses onto her head, and I was greeted by dark brown eyes heavily outlined in kohl. What shocked me was that she was _crying. _Large, salty tears were falling down her face, smearing her mascara and tracing black lines down her face.

"Are you ok?" I asked, concerned and slightly panicked. I started to look around for someone older than I, someone more experienced to deal with this woman.

She gripped my shoulders tightly, and she locked her dark brown eyes with my blue. "You, girl," I frowned. I'm _nineteen, _I'm not a girl anymore. "Do you want to have a baby?"

I was shocked and took a step back. Ok, this was a medium on my weird-o-meter. "Um, sometime in the future, ma'am. Y'know, after I get married and such." I said, retreating another step. She only took another step closer to me. Her eyes were desperate, and slightly crazed. I was really scared. I started to look around for security, and typically, none were in sight.

She sighed and gave the baby selection a wistful glance. I looked there too, and realized that was what drew her into the store. With the increase in celebrity pregnancies-from Justin Bieber's third wife's child, to Miranda Cosgrove, _Target _decided to celebrate the influx in celebrity babies by doing a special two-week long sale on anything baby. Baby food, baby clothes, baby toys, diapers, you name it, it was on a 30% sale. The whole window of the branch I worked at was decorated in baby things, highly visible from the highway.

"I want a baby, so badly it hurts." She sighed again, and when she looked at me she looked..._normal. _She wasn't crying anymore, and she had seemed to have calmed down. However, she was still willing to spill her whole life's story for me. "No matter how hard I try, I can't have the one thing I desire the most. All the money in the world, all my medical knowledge and I still can't bear any children." Alright, I admit it. I was curious.

"Why not?" My tone was sympathetic. I couldn't imagine not being able to bear children-the mere thought scared me.

"I had cancer of the uterus, and I had to have a hysterectomy." Cancer was easily cured these days, after discovering the root of all cancers and formulating a cure, but sometimes in the most extreme cases they still had to remove the growth or organ. I made a sympathetic noise. She looked at the baby display again, then at her flat stomach. When she looked at me, her eyes were alight with an idea-an idea I wasn't sure I would like.

"What do you think of surrogacy?" I started violently; where the heck did this woman come up with these ideas?

"I'm neutral on the subject." I said, keeping my voice guarded.

"How about you be my surrogate?"

I gaped at her. Now I _knew _she was crazy. Seriously, me, a nineteen year old, a surrogate? Ha!

She read the expression on my face, and smiled. It was a kind smile, an understanding one. "You want your own baby, right?" I nodded, but before I could open my mouth to explain I wanted it the right way, falling in love, getting married, the whole shebang, she continued. "This way we can have both our wishes. It could be twins, you keep one and I the other." Her eyes took on a dream-like quality and she seemed to be off in her own world, playing with her baby.

So obviously she missed my look of total disdain.

"You can't be serious, right?"

She seemed to return back to the world, and back to reality. "Of course I am. There's the technology; I can organize to have twins and we can split them half-and-half." I openly gaped at her, my mouth ajar. Of course I knew there was the technology-it was all over the news that Shiloh Joile-Pitt had organized not only the gender of her child, but also the physical characteristics. Her son would be blue-eyed and blonde, like his parents. What shocked me was that she was casually announcing she would split the twins, the other halves to their selves, at birth. I couldn't do that.

Being one half a twin, I knew what it would feel like without my brother around. Sure, it may be quieter and my blood pressure would probably be lower, but the thought of living without him was inconceivable.

I spun on my heel, and walked away from the rich lady, ignoring her protests. A vise like grip on my wrist had me spinning around to the crazy woman. She had reached an all new high on my weird-o-meter. I yanked my hand away from her, and she relented but only after she pressed a business card into my hand. "Think about it. I would pay for anything-money isn't an issue-so just...think about it. Call me."

With that, she walked out and I was tempted to throw the card on the floor and grind it into the tiled floor. But then I knew I would have to clean it up anyways, and stuck the offending piece of paper into my pocket.

It was two days later when I rediscovered the card.

I was doing laundry for my brother and I, and as usual, I checked the pockets before throwing the clothes into the washer. I went to throw it away, but something stopped me. I don't know exactly _what, _but I paused before throwing it into the bin.

A tornado of shaggy brown hair and dark brown eyes eyes came into my room and snatched the card away before I could pitch it.

"What's this?" My brother fixed me in a probing stare with his deep brown eyes, so unlike my bright blue eyes, and a bemused smirk on his face. He made a great show of reading it. "Doctor Megumi Takani." He snorted, but then his eyes and countenance grew serious. "The only doctor you need is one to fix your brain." He joked.

I wasn't in the mood for his jokes. "Give it here, Sanosuke." I only used his full name when he was annoying me.

"Ouch, your tone cut me like a knife. Really." I glared at him, and he chuckled before giving it back to me. I took it quickly, before he could change his mind, and tore it half before throwing it into the garbage. Wiping my hands clean of the matter, I started to walk away before Sano stopped me.

"Hey sis, why didja have that anyways? We have our own doc." I turned around, and saw that he was staring at me intently.

I sat on the edge of my desk. "This crazy woman attacked me in _Target, _asking me to be the surrogate for her baby. She even had the nerve to say that it would be twins and we will split them between us." I shook my head in disgust. It was only after I realized it was _the _Megumi Takani, medical prodigy.

"So why didn't ya do it?"

I looked at Sano, my mouth hanging open. He was deadly serious, and his face was contemplative. "What are you saying?"

"Kaoru, seriously. We are low on money and we still have a little brother to support. We need the money."

I was flabbergasted. "Sano…"

He held his hand up to silence me. "You don't have to do the twin thing, you can just have her baby. I've heard about this Takani woman, and she's a medical genius. She's only twenty-three and she is the most sought after doctor in the world."

I frowned; I already knew that, my professor at school can't stop talking about her. And she did say money was not a problem. I tapped my chin. "Well, I'm not planning to do this a virgin." I said, mainly to get a rise out of my brother. Almost immediately Sano was glowering over me, snarling down my neck. I shoved him away, laughing. "It's a joke, Sano." He grunted, unconvinced, and probably thinking of a thousand different ways to ensure I don't sneak off to have sex with a random stranger. As if.

A bang announced the arrival of my other brother. Yahiko bounded into the room, his dark brown hair sticking haphazardly in the air. His brown eyes were alight with excitement. "Guys, some rich woman is outside asking for Kaoru!"

Sano and I exchanged a glance before we shrugged simultaneously. Sano shoved his hands into his pockets before sauntering out the room behind our younger brother, and I followed at a slower pace. How did she know where I lived?

Megumi Takani looked even more impressive compared to the decor of my house. She was elegant, tall, beautiful, sophisticated, while everything around her was simple, plain and ordinary.

Our second meeting was a bit more composed than the last. "I must apologize for my behavior the other day." She said, quite formally.

I shrugged, suddenly tongue tied. I looked to Sano for reassurance, and my heart sank. He wasn't even looking at me, or at Dr. Takani, but the bodyguard behind her. He was mentally sizing the silent, dark haired, blue-eyed man standing at the right of her, and seeing if he could stand up against him in a fight. Of all the things my brother to be good at, and it had to be fighting. The tall man was doing the same.

I looked at Yahiko, but I didn't get any help there either. He was too busy studying her car, which was parked outside in all its glory. It was a sleek Porsche, black and the newest model-the hovercar. Even though there have been many hovercars since their invention in 2013, only recently were the facilities to support hovercars on the roads were installed. I think I have only seen a handful of them actually being driven.

I returned my gaze to the woman in front of me, and I apologized in return. "I'm sorry for my rude dismissal of your proposition. I have a twin," I jerked my head in Sano's direction, "and the thought of separating twins before they get to know each other made me go cold."

She nodded in understanding. "I spoke rashly. However I am still interested in having you be my surrogate." I shifted uncomfortably, and finally caught Sano's eye.

"We are interested, but how much are you willing to pay?"

Megumi settled her dark eyes on Sano, as if seeing him for the first time. I almost groaned; trust Sano to be blunt.

"You name the price, and I'll pay it." Sano whistled in appreciation.

Yahiko finally seemed to take an interest in the conversation. "Kaoru, Sano, can we talk? Privately?" He glared pointedly at the two strangers and pulled us into my room.

"What is going on here?" He whispered fiercely.

I looked at Sano, unwilling to explain it to our thirteen year old brother.

"Kaoru has decided to become a surrogate for Dr. Takani's surrogate."

Yahiko glared at me. "Why?"

I stuck my hands up in protest. "It wasn't my choice, I swear. We need the money."

Yahiko sighed. For a thirteen year old, he was very mature and knew our situation. We were _this _close to being kicked out of our own house. He knew the situation was grave.

"Does that means she'll get...pregnant?" He winced at the last word.

I snorted. "Duh. That is what it means."

He glowered at me. "No, I mean, does that mean you have to have...sex?"

Sano and I were shocked into silence. Oh.

Sano snickered, and then released a loud laugh. Soon, I found myself giggling too. Yahiko glared at both of us, but his expression was tortured. "C'mon guys! Tell me!"

I shook my head, and brushed away the tears that formed. "Oh, dear Kami, no. She will implant an embryo into my womb…" My voice trailed off. If she had a hysterectomy, that means everything was removed. Uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries…

I stormed outside. "Whose eggs are you planning on using?" I demanded, slamming my hands on the table, jarring the plates on it. Megumi looked up at me, amused.

"Yours, of course."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times in silent fury before I could think of a response. "That wasn't part of the deal!"

"My dear girl, there was no deal. And you're not exactly my first choice. You're so…" She sniffed disdainfully. "...plain."

I was seeing red, and I was dimly aware of Sano's arms wrapping around my waist as I lunged towards her. She laughed, and my hands turned into claws.

"Kaoru, calm down. Breathe. In and out. In and out." Slowly I relaxed, but my anger was no less. I took another deep breath.

"What exactly are you planning on paying us?" My voice was calm and controlled.

Megumi glanced around the small kitchen. "As much as you want. I would arrange for you to be moved to a bigger house, if you want. Pay your bills. Whatever. I just want this baby."

Sano and I exchanged a look, and I sighed. We couldn't turn this offer down. Before I could open my mouth, Sano spoke for us. "You will provide Kaoru with everything she would need to get through the pregnancy-the doctors appointments, everything." Megumi nodded, and so did I. That was reasonable. "Secondly, you will help us pay off Kaoru's medical school's bills." I looked at Sano, startled.

"Sano, you don't have to-" He shut me up with a look. Technically, he was the older twin by thirty-three minutes-a fact he never let me forget-but usually I was the one who would act like the older sibling. However, on rare occasions did he show his mature side.

Megumi turned to me, her brown eyes startled. "You go to med school?"

I nodded. "I'm only a year into it, but I think I'm handling it well enough."

She looked impressed. "So you graduated from which pre-med school?"

"Dartmouth University."

She nodded, her face contemplative. "What do you want to specialize in?"

I answered without hesitation. "Pediatrics."

She nodded, her face still thoughtful. "I agree to that, with one condition."

Sano stiffened, as did I. What now?

She smiled. "I pay for her med school fully."

* * *

So yeah, the intro is long. I betcha the other chapters won't be as long. Oh, and I kinda made Kaoru a smartie too lol As far as I know, you need to do like four (?) years of pre med school b4 doing med school and to be in med school at 19 is really good :) If I'm wrong, please correct me!

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

R.e.v.i.e.w.

Please?

;]


	2. The Choices

Don't forget this is placed 20 years in the future, so all claims I make is totally justified ;] can you believe I even forgot I started a new fic until like just now? O.o it's so unlike me, but then again I am currently writing like 5 diff fics too, so yeah…

Enjoy!

* * *

I was assigned the most hated task of all, one all _Target _employees hated: cleaning. But today I found the task strangely enjoyable as it required little brain power, thus giving me ample time to toss my situation around in my head.

I'm getting _pregnant. _

For a woman who is hailed as the 'medical genius of our time'.

And she's paying my way through med school.

Now this last thought really confused me. Why would she bother herself with the expensive fees? Surely she cannot be made of money! Yes, Sano and I were struggling to make ends meet, even though I had my regular afternoon jig at _Target _and he was working full-time at the _Akabeko, _but we were coping. Kinda. Sure, our electricity was cut off a couple times because we would 'conveniently' forget to pay for it (makes me really want to invest in solar panels like _everyone else in the world, _but that was a high initial investment). Med school was definitely the most expensive, but I somehow could not give it up, and Sano won't let me. I had worked so hard to get where I am now. I had not skipped all those grades depending on my brains alone, but through sheer determination and force of will.

A buzz on my wristwatch stopped my musing. I pressed the top right button, and instantly Megumi's face appeared on the screen.

These handy little watches were all the rage now, quickly replacing cell phones. They allowed for video calls, the face of the watch acting as both a screen and camera, and the voice recognition made it very easy to just say the person's name you are trying to contact while holding down the bottom left button. Naturally, it was from Mac, the little apple symbol above the face of the watch.

"Kaoru, come outside, I have something to discuss with you." I frowned in annoyance; she dared to order me about? However I still looked up, and sure enough I saw her black hovercar waiting for me outside. I sighed and without even replying, I pressed the bottom right button thus ending the call.

I marched outside to the sleek black number, and I saw the same Japanese man from yesterday, the one Sano was sizing up, was driving and the familiar figure of Dr. Takani in the backseat of the Porsche. I bent down so my head was in line with the back window. With the air of a Duchess looking upon her subjects, Megumi rolled down her window regally. "Hop in." I frowned-I hated her treating me as if I were a child!-but I did what she told. I walked to the other side of the car (Kami forbid should she scoot around so I could hop in!) and yanked open the door and clambered in.

The disorienting feeling of floating made my stomach hang in limbo for a few moments, deciding whether or not to dispose of my hastily eaten ham-and-cheese-sandwich-on-rye or not. Deciding better against it, my stomach calmed down and lowered to where it was supposed to be instead of in my throat.

However, when the car actually started to _move, _my stomach started to question the wisdom of that decision.

"Um, Megumi, I am working…"

"Oh, I already called your superintendent already and he excused you. Nice man, that Saitou." I frowned. Saitou Hajime was far from a _nice man; _gruff, strict and a hater of all things pleasurable was a more accurate description. She was looking through a stack of folders on her lap, her perfect brow furrowed in concentration.

"You and Sanosuke-"

"Sano," I corrected quickly.

She rolled her eyes. "_Sano, _are twins, ne?"

I nodded-_duhhh_ didn't I tell her this yesterday?

"You don't look like twins."

"Not all twins do."

"No, but some share similar characteristics. You have black hair and blue eyes, he has brown hair and brown eyes. He looks more like the youngest-Yahiko, ne?-than you. I just find it very...interesting."

"The two boys look like our father. I look like our mother."

"And what happened to your parents?"

"They died."

Megumi paused in her interrogation. "I'm sorry to hear that." And she actually _did _sound sorry-as if she understood my feelings. "So the three of you live alone?"

"Yup. Mom and dad died in a car crash last year, and Sano and I were already eighteen. We got the house and since we were of legal age already we just...kept...Yahiko, raising him on our own. It's been a tough year. Sano had to leave his university, but he never allowed me to quit med school." I laughed, remembering fondly the argument we had over that-the few arguments we had, actually. "He said since I was the one with the brains, I had to use it to my advantage. He always says I'm the brains, he the beauty."

Megumi's smile was genuine, but her dark eyes seemed almost distant. "So by allowing me to pay off your school bills must be taking a great load off your shoulders."

I nodded. "Why did you offer to pay?"

"Because you remind me of myself when I first started."

For some reason, her simple statement touched me more than her heartfelt condolences earlier. To be honest, I always admired Megumi in the same way a teenage girl admires her favorite pop star. However, when my professor just continued to praise her every move, he started to turn me off of her. To hear about her every single achievement in modern medicine kinda got boing after a while.

Suddenly business like, she started handing me the thick folders one by one. I opened the first one to see a picture of a young man, not much older than myself, with blonde hair that shot up in the sky and bright blue eyes. He was grinning into the camera, a confident and cocky grin that I immediately disliked. I hated the arrogant types. I looked at his information, and saw his name was Cho.

"What's this?"

"Sperm donors. I looked through all that I thought appropriate and choose the few in front of you. Now I want you to choose two or three so we could interview them personally."

"Why me?"

She leveled her dark eyes at me. "Because, ultimately, you are going to be the biological mother of this child. So the choice of the father is completely up to you. And me. But mostly you."

I was shocked at this revelation. _I _was going to choose?

Then another thought occurred to me, and I found myself asking, "Did you say interview?"

She nodded. "The last men that you choose we would interview. I want to meet these men personally before choosing; don't you?"

"How are we going to interview them? I mean, aren't these records confidential?"

Megumi smiled a sly smile, and I was instantly worried what her answer would be. "As a doctor, I am...privy...to such information. And to answer your first question...have you ever been on a blind date?"

I gulped. I was in deep doo-doo now, and I could find no way out.

So I did the only thing I could under the circumstances; I looked through the files.

I rejected some men on the most absurd reasons. For example, Shishio was too creepy looking and Kamatari was _gay..._the list went on and on. Throughout the whole elimination process, Aoshi (the driver/bodyguard/Megumi's best friend since elementary school) drove away from the city into the country side where he finally turned into a dirt driveway that twisted and turned all the way up to a huge mansion set in the rolling hills. It was very picturesque, and great timing too; I had finally finished going through the stack of files, and I always found myself coming back to only two men.

-x-

Megumi walked me through the house and giving me a tour as if to rub it in my face: _haha you don't have this, but I do_, before setting me in front of her fireplace and asking me what were my final choices. I squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. Suddenly I wasn't so sure in my choices.

Wordlessly I handed her the two files I had chosen. The first was Soujiro Seta, whose bright smile and friendly blue eyes drew me to him continually. The second was Kenshin Himura, who, no matter how many times I told myself his red hair was just a tad bit too bright, I always found my hand reaching for his file. So I shrugged mentally and went with what my instincts were telling me; choose the red head. Also, I loved his strange violet eyes.

I waited in tense silence as Megumi looked through their files. I was so certain that she would reject them, tell me to choose again, that when her reply finally came I had her repeat it, just to make sure I heard right.

"Great choices Kaoru. These were also my top two." She shot me a bright smile, one so blinding I felt the retarded instinct to raise my hand to shield my eyes.

"So, when do you want your date?" I thought about it and shrugged; what the heck? The only things I do these days was med school in the morning, and work in the afternoon. My evenings are free. However to seem as if I actually had a _life, _(no-one my age is at my school and my fellow colleagues are jealous, so I have no friends) I hesitated and tapped a finger on my chin to seem as if I was thinking hard of when I was feee. "I think this Saturday works out for me."

"Great! So we could each have our date on Saturday and compare notes."

My blank stare must have said more than words can express. She rolled her eyes. "Didn't I explain it to you?"

I shook my head, saying, "You just said that I was going on 'blind dates' with these guys."

"Oh, I'm going on dates with these guys too." She replied with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I want the redhead."

"No fair! I wanted him!" In all honesty, I didn't, but I was getting sick of her ordering me about as if I were a child.

She smirked at me. "Too bad. I have dibs on him."

I groaned and sat back in my chair. "Fine." I said, a bit sullenly.

She looked at her watch cell, and in a clear and precise voice said Kenshin Himura's name. With these watches, if you say a name that is not in your phonebook, a list of 'Kenshin Himura' would show up with pictures of each one. From there it was a simple task of finding the right one; like searching a friend on the old Facebook.

I sighed and said Soujiro Seta's name, and quickly scanned through the entries until I found the familiar smiling face of one of my potential donors. I pressed on his entry and immediately saw I was calling him. All I had to do now is wait for him to pick up.

I saw Megumi get up and move to the next room, supposedly to have her own conversation in private. Before I could contemplate it, my screen went blank for a fraction of a second and then it was filled with the image of Soujiro Seta.

"Good afternoon." He said, his eyes guarded.

"Um, hi." He waited patiently for me to continue, and I panicked. What was I supposed to say? I so didn't plan this, and it's not like I could just say, 'hey I want you to be my baby daddy but first we got to go on a date.' NO. I racked my bran for a plausible excuse while I looked at where he was. A flash of inspiration struck; in his resume (I guess is what you can call it) it said he worked as a part time instructor at some dojo.

"I want to join your dojo." I blurted out, and by his smile I assumed I said the right thing. I released a sigh of relief.

"Sure, practice times are everyday at five 'til seven. You're free to drop in any time." He flashed me a brilliant smile, then seemed as if he was going to hang up.

"Wait!" I sounded slightly desperate, but I had to keep him talking. "Um, when you say everyday do you also mean Saturday?"

He nodded.

"Um, ok that's great 'coz I only have free time on Saturday, and I was worried you won't have it on Saturday, 'coz I'm busy the rest of the week and my only free time is-"

"Saturday." He finished for me with a chuckle. I blushed, realizing I was babbling. "What is your name?"

"Kaoru Kamiya." I answered, my cheeks still pink.

He gave me a bright smile. "I can't wait to meet you, Kaoru." I nodded and hung up myself.

Sitting back in my chair I tried (and failed) to not think about what a _stellar _impression I just left him with. Knocking my head against the back of the chair, I groaned.

Megumi burst into the room, her eyes ablaze. "He has a _girlfriend._" She spat, whirling around into her chair.

"Well, now we can be _normal _and just ask for an interview." I retorted.

"Where's the fun in that?"

* * *

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

R.e.v.i.e.w.

Please?

;]


	3. Seta

I was nervous. I haven't practiced any form of martial arts in years, most of my time focused on my studies. Sano surged ahead in this while I charged ahead in academics. Physical and brains. Yup, that explained us _perfectly. _Sano mastered the _Futae no Kiwami _in merely a few days; I finished high school and college pre-med courses in four years. We are a couple of wonder twins.

I took a deep breath and my grip on the strap of my exercise bag tightened. I then rocked on my heels for a second before gathering my courage and knocking on the door to the dojo. The dojo I had trained in was open to the public, its wide doors open for any who wished to join and allowing people to watch the students go through the motions of their katas. It was the way my father had wanted it, and I loved it that way. This dojo was placed in a gym, closed with air conditioner.

I waited for bated breath for what felt like hours, which was in reality a few seconds, before the door opened. Soujiro Seta was smiling genially at me, his blue eyes twinkling and his hair plastered onto his forehead. Obviously he had been practicing before I arrived. "Kaoru, I assume?"

I dry swallowed and nodded. I was uncomfortable around guys, especially ones I was looking to be my donor. I cringed internally at the thought; I was still unaccustomed to the fact that I was getting pregnant. I think I am allowed a freak out every now and then. I followed him into the impeccably clean dojo, my mouth agape. There were a few punching bags at the end of the room, tied up but they could be slid out to span the length of the room. A selection of bokken and shinai were resting in a corner of the room, and next to it were punching pads; a person would attach these onto their arms while her partner would kick or punch at the targets. Really and truly, it was no different than my dad's dojo but something about it screamed _different. _

Soujiro smiled over his shoulder at my nervous expression. "Don't worry, when I have newcomers I don't push them too hard."

I gave him a half smile. "I'm not worried about that, it's just been a while."

A dark eyebrow went into his hairline. "You've fought before?"

"I trained with my father for a few years."

He gave me a blinding smile. "Then I'll do a little assessment test to see where you're at."

I nodded before jerking my head in the direction of the bathrooms. "Can you give me a few minutes to change?" I gestured at my jeans and black strappy top (I had my _Target _button-down over it before, but that was too embarrassing to travel in). "I don't think I would be too comfortable training in this."

He smiled indulgently at me, which I took as an a-okay. I rushed to the bathrooms and changed quickly into a white work out top and loose black yoga pants. I saw that Soujiro was barefooted, so I left my shoes off. Just to be safe, I put on my boxing gloves. If I wasn't going to use them, it was no skin off my back to take them off.

When I emerged from the bathrooms, I saw that Soujiro had put on the arms pads and was looking at me expectantly. "Let's see your punch."

I nodded, and went into the stance I was taught-legs apart and steady, a bit more than shoulder width apart with my favored foot (my right foot) slightly behind me. I brought my hands to my chin level, and kept my gaze steady and inhaled. Exhaling sharply, I snapped my right arm out in a cross, immediately followed by a left hook and a right cross. Soujiro seemed impressed. I shook my shoulders to loosen them. I then did the same, but opposite arms; left cross, right hook and left cross again.

"Your form is great, but I think you're holding back on me." I grinned slightly, because he was right. He discarded the pads and put on his own boxing gloves. Then he too stood at a ready position, and with a friendly smile, urged me to attack.

What followed was a series of punches and kicks in combinations I haven't done in years. I was barely able to hit him, he was so fast, but he always did me the courtesy of not hitting me even when he had the chance. I brought my right foot up and snapped it out in a roundhouse kick, and he grabbed my leg. I wrenched it out of his grip and threw myself backwards to avoid his punch to my face. His fist grazed my right cheek and before his hand recoiled, I returned the punch. I felt myself grinning; I haven't felt so good and so alive in a while. I missed fighting.

After a minute of sparring, Soujiro held up a hand. My breath was coming in gasps and sweat was trickling down my face and into my eyes. I shook my head of the perspiration, a feral grin on my lips. "You need to slow down your movements, control them better. But otherwise, you're good." I was really getting tired of his ever-present smile. It was creeping me out. He waltzed over to the bokken and shinai, and tossed a wooden sword to me.

I watched it turn in the air and as it reached close enough, I grabbed it mid-air. Before I could even think, Soujiro was on top of me. If it was even possible, his speed with the sword was even greater than when we were fist fighting. I just had to continually thank my father for his defense-oriented teachings, as I'm sure without it I would have ended up with a few bruises. Ok, not a few, a _lot. _And possibly a couple broken bones.

Upward block, sweep into a side block, jump back. Walk cautiously in a circle before blocking a slash to the neck. Swinging my blade up and under his, and twist my wrist. Flick it as hard as I could, and his sword flew out his hand. Stand with the bokken poised in front of me, following his every move even though I disarmed him.

He gave me a puzzled look. "Why didn't you attack me?"

I shrugged, lowering my sword. "It wasn't what I was taught. I was taught to protect the weak, 'A sword that protects'. I don't believe in killing someone, or attacking an unarmed person."

His bewildered look was a little better than his over cheery smile. "But only the strong survive." As he said that, my blood went cold.

"Do you really believe that?" My voice was soft.

"Who wouldn't? It's the way of the world; survival of the fittest."

I ran my hands through my hair, a growl stuck in my throat. _No way _could he believe that. Yet his expression told me differently; from the confused look in his blue eyes, to the way he held himself proudly as he said it, the almost arrogant twist in his lips...he truly believed that the weak had no place in the world.

He took my silence as acceptance, and seemed to forget our disagreement. "The remainder of the class would be arriving in a few minutes. You're welcome to try the first class for free, and if you want to continue after today, just sign up and pay a deposit of $100 for the first month. Oh, and we usually train with music, if you don't mind."

I nodded, my head still reeling. I stumbled away from him, and went into the bathroom. I splashed my face with water and took a deep breath. I then took out my water bottle and took a few deep swallows of the miracle that is water.

I heard the sounds of people coming into the dojo and the sounds of friendly banter. I waited until I heard more people come and the music to start before I went to join them. I lost myself in the pounding of feet as we ran in a circle around the room.

Soujiro Seta was seeming promising, but no matter how I think about it in different points of view, I could not bring myself to agree with his mindset.

I mentally put a line through his name.

Only one more to go-Kenshin Himura. I hoped that he would be good enough, or else I would have to do this whole process again.

-x-

Megumi's face appeared on my phone watch as I closed the door to my house. I sighed before answering. "Yes, Megumi?"

"So what did you think of Seta? I want to meet with him next week, but I don't want to waste my time."

"Don't go. You'll be wasting your time."

Her face looked disappointed. "But he seemed so promising!"

I resisted the urge to scowl at her; it wasn't her fault I was angry. Ok, maybe. I was annoyed at her, but she didn't need to know that. "Yeah, he seemed perfect on paper. In person, he's pretty disgusting."

"Disgusting how? Like picking his nose in front of people and eating it disgusting?" I made a disgusted face.

"Ew, nothing as dramatic as that. Sheesh."

"Then disgusting how?"

I sat heavily on a floating sofa (yes, the thing floated, I loved how it bobbed as soon as I sat on it. I never got tired of the stomach-falling-feeling) and sighed gustily, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. "He and I didn't see eye to eye on an important topic."

"Which topic?" I gave her a sharp glance, and I saw her shrug her shoulders. "Sorry, I had to ask. Oh, I meant to tell you: Ken has a little sister who is having an eighteenth party at some club next week, and I got us on the guest list!"

"He has a sister?" I gave her a suspicious look.

She rolled her eyes. "Her name's Misao Mackimachi, and they're not blood related. Their father adopted the Kenshin in 2012 when he was three, and Misao in 2017 when she was four. Hiko let his kids keep their real names, which is weird."

"Wait, how do you know this? And how the heck did you get us invited?"

Megumi gave me a sly glance, and she giggled. "I have my methods." She said ominously before hanging up on me.

I growled at the blank screen before allowing my head to loll onto the back of my chair. "Damn her."

"Hey, once she keeps paying she could got to hell for all I care."

My head jerked up and I jumped slightly in my seat, making the thing bob up and down, jarring me even more. Sano was laughing uproariously at my scared crap-less expression, and my antics to calm the damn chair. I glared at him, swiping my sweaty hair out my eyes. That reminded me-I was in desperate need of a shower. I tried very hard to not smell myself to see if I stank or not.

"What do you want, Sano?"

He stopped laughing long enough to wipe his eyes. "I heard you talking to psycho doctor there, and I wanted to know what kind of party you're going to without me."

"Kenshin Himura's little sister's party."

He gave me a blank stare. "Is he some medical genius too?"

I gave him an incredulous look before laughing. I couldn't help it, the thought of that red-head being smart for some reason amused me greatly. It's not like he didn't look smart, he did, it's just that...not that smart. And he's not even out of college! Makes me wonder why I even considered him for a donor; but then again, most (if not all) of the donors Megumi chose were my age or a little older. I didn't pay much attention to the ages, but as I recall, Cho was the eldest at twenty-three. Hmm. Maybe she chose guys my age so I may better relate to them. Wow. She was even more thoughtful than I thought.

"No, no, he's not a doctor, or even studying to be one." I managed after I caught my breath. I had a stitch from laughing so hard, and I was clutching my side. "He's one of the guys Megumi chose to be my donor, but she wants me to choose."

"But...? I sense a but coming along."

"But I have to meet them first. I just came from a meeting with one of them."

"And he dumped a bucket of water over you. No wonder you turned him down."

"No, he is the assistant teacher in a dojo, so I went to one of his sessions."

"And how did that go for you?" His tone was mocking.

My voice was slightly incredulous when I answered. "It was fun. I missed fighting."

His eyebrows were high. "You do?"

I nodded my head and curled my feet under me. I put my elbow on my legs and propped my head on my hand. "Yeah. When I was sparring with Soujiro-that's his name-I had _fun. _It felt good to hit something."

Sano moved from his space to in front of me, his face turning from one of shock to anger. "That bastard bruised you!" He yelled, gently prodding my right cheek where he punched me. I jerked my head away from his course fingers.

"We sparred. People get hit in spars." I retorted.

Sano stood, his hands in fists at his sides. "That son-of-a-bitch is going to pay." His brown eyes blazed in fury. I stood up wearily, walked into my room, got my baseball bat and walked back outside. I took a swing at Sano's head and with a loud _thwap_, the bat connected with my brother's hard head.

"Ow, what the heck was that for?" He yelled at me, his hand rubbing the place where I hit him. His normally spiky hair was kinda flat in that area, and I had to suppress a grin. "You weren't listening to me! Don't go after him, or else…" I raised the bat threateningly.

Sano backed away from me, his hands raised in surrender. "Fine, I won't. Just...don't get hit next time."

I gave him an impish grin. "I don't plan to."

* * *

The fist fight I described is taken from personal experience...literally. My sensei was trying to teach me a lesson (I was going through the drill too fast and getting excited and I started actually hitting my partner when we were supposed to only be shadow boxing xp) and yes, I did get punched in the face. It was actually the corner of my eyes, and I barely dodged it. If I didn't move my head last second I would have had a worse black and blue eye :p

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

R.e.v.i.e.w.

Please?

;]


	4. The Invitation

I smiled flirtatiously at the bartender as I received my drink. As everyone was still underage, the only drinks I could get were sodas. However with a wink and flashing my fake I.D., I got my Coke spiked with rum. I was on my third, and the world was gaining a pleasant buzz and I was feeling slightly lightheaded.

The bartender gave me an assessing gaze and gave me a charming smile in return. He was well built, but I could not make out any other defining features in the strobe lights of the club. Whoever Misao and Kenshin's father was, he was rich to rent out a whole club just for an eighteenth party.

My eyes roved the crowd, taking in the grinding bodies and the smell of spilled alcohol. However my gaze always returned to the two main people-the small birthday girl and her brooding brother in the corner.

Misao was truly the life of the party. She flitted from person to person, a broad grin on her childish, almost pixie face. Her emotions were freely broadcasted on her expressive face, changing from joy to disgust to mischievous in minutes. Her bright green eyes were wide and naive, but there was an intelligence and quick wit in them too. Her long hair was in a braid that swished as she danced, her boyish figure swaying sinuously to the music.

Kenshin was the opposite. He stood on the outskirts of the party, his violet eyes scanning the room constantly. Sometimes he would divert his attention from the roiling crowd to talk to a stately looking woman at his elbow-his girlfriend, I assume-or share a joke with the man standing to the woman's right.

Kenshin was handsome in his own right, with his flame red hair and intense violet eyes. His features were delicate, like a woman's, but his sharp cheekbones and strong chin were manly. His tight magenta top suggested at a fine physique, and his youthful face made him seem younger than the twenty-three years he really was. If I didn't know better, I would have thought he was my age.

The woman at his elbow had an emotionless face, but no-one can deny her ethereal beauty. Her long, black hair flowed freely down her back and she stood with the poise of a dancer. She barely touched or talked to Kenshin. To me, it seemed as if she was silently suffering with him. As if someone close to them had died. Or if a part of them had died.

No matter how attractive Kenshin was, however, the man with the shock of white, spiky hair and dark eyes held my attention. He lounged against the wall with a bored look on his face but yet the way he stood and how his eyes flicked over the crowd said that his bored look was just an act. He constantly looked at the beautiful woman with a look akin to envy on his face, and open hostility when he looked at Kenshin, but neither of them noticed these looks.

It was apparent that these three had a story, and I couldn't wait to find out what it was.

Megumi sighed loudly next to me. She was dressed brazenly in a short, red dress that caught everyone's eye and her bright red lipstick stood out on her pale face. Her hair was elegantly pulled away from her face and her bright heels tapped out the rhythm of the song. I was dressed in a tight, strapless black top and skin tight jeans and my feet hurt like a bitch in my heels. My hair was put into its customary high ponytail and a little eyeshadow and lipgloss was all the makeup I wore.

"I'm bored." She whined, rolling her head and looking at the ceiling.

I took a sip of my drink, my blue eyes going from Misao, to Kenshin, to the woman, to the white-haired man and finally back to Misao. I winced slightly as the alcohol burned down my throat. "You're the one who wanted to come to an eighteen year old's party." I shot back.

"I thought it would be more _interesting._" The whine was still evident in her voice.

I just took another sip of my drink, my eyes on the dance floor. "Who are the people by Kenshin?"

Megumi pointed to the woman, not caring if the woman realized we were talking about her or not. "That is Tomoe Yukishiro, Kenshin's _riveting _girlfriend. She looks like she wants to commit suicide." I nodded, agreeing. Megumi pointed to the man next to her. "That is her younger brother, Enishi. I think he's your age."

I raised my eyes at this; in his all black attire and lean frame, I assumed he was Tomoe's age or even older. I smiled into my drink. Bored with my lack of conversation, she turned to the ever-present Aoshi. He was dressed in black jeans and a light blue shirt, the first three buttons undone to show off his toned and tanned chest. I thought that look was so retro, but it worked for him. Megumi grabbed his hand and dragged him onto the dance floor, mischief in her eyes. Aoshi sent me a look that just shouted 'help' and I grinned at him, wriggling my fingers. He groaned in despair as Megumi pulled him even deeper into the mass of drunk, underage teenagers.

I scanned the crowd again, a cursory glance, and saw that birthday girl was missing. Curious about her whereabouts, I put down my glass and wandered off to the bathroom. Sure enough, Misao was there.

I gave her a smile and she looked at me as if I were crazy. "Who are you?"

I cringed. "Um, I'm friends with Megumi."

She still had a quizzical look on her face, and I saw the suspiciousness creep into her deep green eyes. Then a spark of recognition lit on her face and she laughed. "The woman with the really tall, really hot guy?"

I chuckled and nodded my head. "Yup, that's the one."

"Is she his girlfriend?" I could see base curiosity in her gaze, and the starting of an infatuation. With Aoshi? Well yeah, he's hot, I guess, but still. He's so...serious.

"Nope, they're just best friends."

"So I can take him if I want?" A mischievous glint was in her eyes, one I recognized from Megumi. I silently groaned, and immediately started to feel sorry for Aoshi.

"You can try." I replied guardedly. She gave me a bright smile, but before she left I stopped her with a hand on her wrist. "Wait, your brother...how long has he been going out with Tomoe?"

Misao snorted. "For-freaking-ever. I hate her, she's always so prim and proper and a stick in the mud. Ugh." She rolled her eyes. "Why, you interested in him? I can hook you up, you seem much nicer than Tomoe."

A blush covered my face. "No, no, I…" How do I explain this? She shrugged me off, not concerned whether I wanted to hook up with her brother or not.

"I'll drop your name sometime, and maybe organize a time for the two of you to meet. _Secretly, _of course."

"Of course." I mumbled under my breath.

She whipped out her phone-watch and looked at me expectantly. I quickly recited my number and she gave me hers. It was only when she left that I realized I had made a friend. A wide grin broke out on my face.

I returned to my spot and my drink, and saw Megumi still trying to make Aoshi dance. I was so preoccupied with Megumi's failed attempts to make Aoshi dance that I didn't realize he was next to me until his hot breath tickled my ear. "I don't think we have had the pleasure to meet."

I inhaled sharply and spun to face Enishi, a charming and sarcastic smile playing on his lips. I smiled in response, and lowered my gaze so I was looking at him through my eyelashes. "Kaoru."

He leaned against the bar and his assessing gaze made heat rush to my face. Satisfied with my embarrassment, or looks, or both, a slow smile spread across his face. His dark eyes locked with mine and his smile grew wider. "Enishi."

Heat of another kind rose from my lower belly and sent shivers up my spine. I had always been attracted to the dangerous types, and from the way he rolled the sleeves of his black shirt, to his distressed jeans and boots and leather bracelet and the black diamond in his ear made him attractive to me physically. The way he was looking at me now, with that look in his dark eyes that told me that he was attracted to me and would do almost anything to act on his attraction made me melt. A large part of my brain-the rational side, the one that got me out of these situations-told me to walk away and forget about Enishi and his smoldering eyes. But the smaller part, the part that was being urged on by my rebelliousness and, in a small way, the alcohol, urged me to get closer. To play this flirting game, throw caution to the wind and just..._live. _

So guess which one I chose?

I took a step closer to him so that our breath mingled, and trailed my finger from his collarbone, down his well formed abs and towards the hem of his jeans, keeping my eyes locked on his the entire time. His hand rested on my hip and I saw his eyes darken. He lowered his face to mine and his breath was warm on my cheek. "Want to get out of here?"

He took a step away from me and extended his hand. Last chance; did I really want to do this?

Hell yes.

I reached out for his hand and took it in mine. As soon as my hand was engulfed in his, he pulled me closer towards him and covered my mouth with his. Heat rose in my lower stomach again, and I gasped against his mouth. His tongue slipped into my mouth and started exploring it… And my hands trailed through his hair…. His hands slipped around my waist and pulled me closer to him… And I allowed myself to give into the invitation he offered.

* * *

Ok, so I was never truly honest with Sano. I wasn't exactly a virgin...in fact, I haven't been since I was fourteen. It wasn't like the guy seduced me or if it was some big romantic thing that has ever happened to me, that I thought he was my soulmate or any of that shit. Basically it started off with us just talking about how _everyone _our age was doing it, and how we were sick and tired of being the only two who didn't. So we decided to just...do it. The two of us. Just to get it over and done with, so when someone would mockingly ask, "Got some yet?", we can answer, "Yes I did. Now go screw yourself."

This was before I was pushed up a few grades. Before people started looking at me with a mixture of awe, jealousy and downright hate. When I was a normal fourteen year old girl.

Shogo was gentle with me. I remember pain, but I knew to expect it. I also remember pleasure. I remember lying in his arms, and saying, "Well _now _I see what all the fuss is about." I remember him chuckling and kissing my hair.

After that, I was found out to be a genius and put in the fast track. Shogo watched me from the sidelines, giving me an encouraging word whenever we could. He was my best friend, my first time, and I forgot about him. After finishing high school, I forgot about him. How strange was it, then for me to wake up in another man's bed and think about him again, when I haven't done so in years?

**Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?**

**R.e.v.i.e.w**

**Please?**

**;]**


	5. Violet

**IMPORTANT: I forgot to add the chapter with Soujiro in it (chapter 3 now) so I HIGHLY suggest you re-read from chapter three onwards.

* * *

**

Ok, sleeping with a complete stranger was not the smartest thing I have ever done, and I have done pretty idiotic things in my life. I clutched the bed sheet around my naked body and glanced around the room, hardly noticing the expensive decorations, or the beautiful view from the window of the pent house apartment I was in, or the silk I was wrapped in…

Wait. A. Second.

This is _silk_? Holy crap! How rich was he anyways? I stared down at the cream coloured silk I was wrapped in, rubbing it with the pads of my fingers. I shook my head, and resumed the search for my clothes. They had to be here somewhere!

I finally spotted dark blue under what I'm sure was the shirt he was wearing last night. My cheeks flushed as my memories of the night before rushed through my brain. I really had to get a grip of myself! Wrapping the silk sheet around me, I got up from the very comfortable and soft bed to pick up my jeans. Without removing the sheet, I slipped my jeans on and started to rummage through the mess of a room for my shirt. Not finding it anywhere in the bedroom I sighed and put his black shirt. I inhaled his scent and smiled. It was a nice, clean scent, the slight scent of his cologne still on it.

I opened the door of his bedroom to what I hoped was the rest of the apartment and gasped. It was huge. The ceilings were high, giving the room a lofty look, and the walls were white and sleek stainless steel shelves lined the walls. On these shelves were knick-knacks, books, pictures, and DVDs. Where there weren't shelves there was a large flat screen T.V. The furniture was white leather and comfortable, whether they be sofas or chairs for the deep mahogany dining table. Everything reeked of comfort and of femininity. He obviously lived here with his sister, which would mean Mr. Himura…

As I thought that, I heard the front door open and the man starring in my thoughts walked in, coffee in his hands. I was interested to see not two cups of coffee, but four. How strange. His strange violet eyes lit up when he saw me, then a slight frown appeared on his youthful face.

"You're Enishi's girl?"

I nodded, struck by his melodious voice. His bright red hair was tied at the nape of his neck, and his plain white shirt was out of his loose jeans. He looked really comfortable here, unlike me. I felt like a stranger. "I guess you can say that."

The frown deepened. "How long have you two been together?"

"Um, not at all. We only met last night."

I was surprised when he cursed loudly, his violet eyes seeming to flash amber for a second. "That _bastard! _I told him to stop…" He ruffled his hair in frustration, the coffee momentarily forgotten on the table in front of him. He placed his hands on the table and breathed heavily. I started to say something to excuse Enishi's actions and explain that I was at fault too, when he spoke again. "Are you all right?"

"Excuse me?"

He met my bright blue eyes with his violet ones. "Did he hurt you in any way?"

I shook my head. "No, I don't think so. I feel fine."

He levelled his eyes at me, and seeming satisfied, nodded his head. "That's good. He's usually rougher with his girls. I'm glad he treated you well. Where is he?"

I shrugged. "I woke up and I couldn't find him anywhere."

He nodded, and picked up the coffee. "How do you like your coffee, Miss…?"

I reached for a cup and replied, "Kaoru Kamiya. But just call me Kaoru. I drink it black." I took an experimental sip of the coffee, and saw that he was looking at me expectantly, and I realised that he was waiting for me to ask him his name. Crap! I shouldn't know his name! Nearly spitting out all the coffee, I quickly asked him his name. He looked at me as if I was crazy, but answered nonetheless.

"Kenshin Himura. I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot, so just call me Kenshin."

I blew on my coffee, and looked at him as he added two packs of sweetener and a little of no-fat milk to one of the coffees before he picked up a tea. "So…um…Kenshin, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Enishi's sister is my girlfriend." He said with a grimace.

"Why the look?"

"What look?"

"Y'know…" I mirrored his pained look and his face broke out in a smile.

"I did not make that face."

"You did. So, why the look?"

He sighed, and leaned in as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I probably shouldn't be telling to this to a complete stranger, let alone Enishi's new thing, but Tomoe and I are having problems."

I looked at him in surprise. "Really? But you seem to be such a nice guy! You even brought her coffee!"

He nodded solemnly, taking another sip of his tea. "I don't know when it happened. Everything was going great for a long time. We've been together since college, you see," I nodded, but I don't know how long ago that could have been. He looked like he was still in college. "But recently she's been growing distant and always at work."

"Maybe she's having an affair." I joked, but my laugh died in my throat when I saw his sober face. "That was a joke, I didn't mean it, oh my gosh, I'm sorry!"

He shook his head. "No, it's ok. I was thinking that myself."

I gasped, bringing my hands up to my mouth. "Oh, Kami, how horrible!"

"Did you just say Kami?"

I hung my head, my cheeks flushing. Sometimes I reverted to my Japanese roots, spouting random Japanese in normal conversations. People tended to look at me weird. "Yeah, sorry."

He laughed, the sound carefree. It was at odds with what I thought of him-serious and not able to find humour in anything. I really liked the sound of his laugh. "No, it's just that no one I know has ever mentioned Kami in front of me. I'm Japanese."

"You're not serious!"

He nodded, the traces of a smile playing on his lips. "Yes, I lived in Japan for the first ten years of my life. Do you speak Japanese?"

"Sometimes. My parents were Japanese and used to speak to my brothers and I in their native tongue. So I picked up a few words."

"Well, I may be a bit rusty with the language, but I've been dying to speak to someone in Japanese. Will you indulge me?"

I hung my head, tears brimming up. "I…don't speak it anymore. Too many painful memories."

"Why?"

"My parents died a year ago. When I speak Japanese, I remember them and it makes me sad."

"I don't think remembering them should make you sad for their passing, but rather joyful for them being able to live and love. And if it's any consolation, I'm glad they lived."

I looked up in surprise at him, understanding flickering in his violet eyes. "Why?"

"Because if they never lived, I won't be sitting next to you now."

My eyes widened, and my heart lodged itself in my throat. I gulped past it, and gave him a weak smile. "Arigatou."

His smile widened and I smiled back tentatively.

"Who are you?" I spun around to see a gorgeous woman in a plain white sundress with her hands on her hips, glaring at me. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and her dark eyes were glinting with fury.

"Um, I'm…"

"My girl." I felt an arm around my shoulders and looked up to see Enishi, and blushed. He gave his sister a superior look and I saw Kenshin frown at him from the corner of my eye. Enishi smelled clean, and his hair was still damp from the shower.

Tomoe flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked to where Kenshin was holding her coffee. She grabbed it from him and stalked off, Kenshin giving me a little wave as he followed behind.

"By the way, Enishi, there's your coffee. Nice meeting you, Kaoru. Ja."

"Ja ne, Kenshin." I replied, a smile on my face. He gave me a smile in return before following Tomoe out of the lush apartment.

I looked up to see Enishi openly glaring at Kenshin's back, then shake his head. He gave me a charming smile and leaned down to brush my lips with his, but he pulled back before I could respond.

"So, Kaoru."

"Yes?"

"What do you say to dinner tonight?"

"Really?" I had expected this to be a one-night stand thing, with an awkward morning after and a quick good-bye. However, it seems as if he wanted to continue whatever we had.

"Yeah. You seem like an interesting girl. I want to get to know more about you." He explained as he picked up his coffee and threw it away, not even looking at it.

"Oh."

He stared at me. "You sound disappointed." Did I see hurt in his eyes?

"No, no, no! I didn't think you were that kind of guy."

"And what kind would that be?"

I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip of my coffee, hoping to hide my embarrassment. "Y'know, the one who shags the girl and leaves them the next day."

He threw his head back and laughed, and I couldn't help but compare his laugh with Kenshin's. While Kenshin's seemed warm and full of happiness, his seemed amused and slightly bitter. "Oh, no. I can't do that. Not with that bastard in my life anyways. But even if he didn't always stick his nose in my relationships to make sure I treated women 'right' I would still like to get to know you better. You…intrigue me."

"How so?"

"You seem innocent, but yet you still came with me last night. Your eyes are enchanting. Your laugh is infectious. You're a beautiful woman."

I flushed and hid my face. "Really?" I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was the alcohol last night talking when I said I'd come with him.

He put his finger under my chin and forced me to meet his eyes. "Yes." He was staring intently into my eyes, and I suddenly wished that I was looking into Kenshin's violet orbs instead of Enishi's dark ones. Before I could contemplate that further, Enishi's lips met mine in a leg-weakening kiss and I responded fervently. Anything to get Kenshin out of my mind. I couldn't afford to be confused about things like that.

* * *

I opened the door to my house softly, hoping not to alert either of my brothers to my presence. It will not do me any good to come back home at ten in the morning, after spending the night at another man's and still wearing his shirt and having him drop me back home in his hovercar. Try explaining that to my over-protective brothers. Nightmare.

I was trying to sneak pass the kitchen when I heard a throat clearing. I stiffly turned around and gave my twin a bright smile. "Morning Sano."

He glared at me, his dark brown eyes practically shooting fire. "Where were you last night?"

I waved my hand flippantly. "Out with Megumi and Aoshi."

"She called last night to say she couldn't find you."

I gulped. He stood up slowly and advanced on me and I backed up until my knees hit the floating couch. I collapsed on it, and stared up at my twin trying in vain to figure out something that I could tell him without him killing me. "I was at Misao's! Yeh, that's where I was!"

"Who's Misao?"

"A girl I met last night." I don't know how Misao's name popped into my head, but I was relieved it did or else I will be cinders right now, burnt by the intensity of my brother's wrath.

"Isn't she the one who threw the party last night?"

"Yes. Yes, her."

"No, you didn't go home with her!" I groaned as I heard Megumi's voice. Dammit! Why was she here? "She went home with her brother and her father. Where did you go?"

"Megumi, get out of my house."

She crossed her arms across her chest and glared at me as she walked out my kitchen. Sano looked like he was about to kill me. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where you've been. And I'm not leaving unless Sano tells me to. It's his house too, and he invited me over."

I looked between my brother and my 'employer' and sighed. "Fine. I went over by Enishi's last night."

"Enishi?" Sano repeated, his voice low and dangerous.

I nodded glumly. "He's Tomoe's brother, who is Kenshin's girlfriend, and it was Kenshin's sister's birthday last night."

"What did you do?" He asked, enunciating every word.

I levelled my gaze at my brother. "Seriously, Sano? What else does someone do when they go home with someone of the opposite sex?"

"Or the same sex, depending on your preference." Supplied Megumi. I glared at her. She was not helping.

Sano ran his hands through his hand in exasperation and stalked away from me. "Was this the first time?"

I paused, staring at his tense shoulders and wondered if telling him the truth will hurt him more. "With Enishi…yes. Altogether? No."

He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll talk to you more about this later. Just…get his shirt off you." He walked away, refusing to look at me. I felt tears building up and I had to gulp past the lump in my throat. I hated disappointing my brother, and I felt I failed him in some way. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Megumi. She sighed, and grabbed my hand and led me to my room.

"Normally I would scold you for using my body-"

"Excuse me, it's _my _body!" I protested, but she ignored me and continued.

"-but I think you had a good time last night and I can't very well take that away from you right before asking you to have my baby."

I stared at her back in surprise. I thought she was going to yell at me too, but she didn't. If anything, she was very understanding about it all.

"Oh, I met Kenshin." I said suddenly.

"What do you think?"

I thought about it for a second then a bright smile crossed my face. "He's perfect."

* * *

EEEEKKKK Kaoru and Kenshin's first meeting! ^.^ Hope you like x)

And does anyone know how the…erm…surrogacy false impregnation works? Because I have no blinking idea. Seriously.

Ok, I know I totally deserve whatever rocks etc you throw at me. I know, I know, I know. And I know it's no excuse to say that I've been busy with school, the truth is I've been doing so much writing for my classes that I don't feel to write more…so sorry! Christmas hols are here, though, so I'll be updating more :] and I'll also pre-write chapters so I can still update regularly even if I'm not writing :p

Any thoughts? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	6. First Date

"What should I say?" I was slightly panicked, my breaths coming in short gasps. I was dressed for my date with Enishi, in a short blue dress and a black shrug with black ankle boots. I nervously fingered my black earrings as I paced in front of Megumi and she snorted at my antics.

"Just tell him straight up what you're being paid to do, raccoon girl."

I shot Megumi a sharp look at her nickname for me then sighed. "I'm getting pregnant for his sister's boyfriend so you may have a baby. I don't think that's gonna go over well."

"Don't mention the father, idiot! Just say you don't know who the father is. Plus, you made this agreement with me before you even met him. Do you even like him?"

"Yes. No. I don't know!" I pulled at my hair with my hands and collapsed on my favourite chair, my weight causing it to bob up and down. "He's really hot, but also really considerate even though he is a prick to Kenshin but he was such a gentleman with me…"

Megumi sighed and sat next to me. She placed a hand on my shoulder and I brought my eyes up to meet her dark brown orbs. "Kaoru, you'll be fine. It's just a date. It does not mean that you will fall in love with him, or that you'll be married with him in the future or anything. It's just a date." She said, enunciating the last sentence. "What, never been on a date before?"

I stared at her, my eyes wide. I clutched at my chest, trying to control my breathing.

"Oh my God, you haven't, have you?"

I shook my head. "Why? Does that make it worse for me? Kami, I'm going to mess this up! Oh geez, oh geez, oh geez," I got up from the couch and started pacing again only to be stopped by Megumi's hands on my shoulders.

"Kaoru, breathe. In. Out. In. Out." My breathing regularised and Megumi nodded slowly. "Good. He'll be here in a few minutes. Where's that rooster head brother of yours?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Megumi's eyes glazed over for a second, then cleared, and she sighed. "Doesn't matter. Now, raccoon girl, it's the first date. Don't go home with him, even though you have slept with him already. It's a first date. You get to know him a little better, but you must tell him that you will be unavailable for the next nine months. I've scheduled the appointment for next week Friday. Honesty is he best policy in this case. You don't want him thinking that he got you knocked up the first time, right?"

"Right." I echoed, nodding my head. Right. No sex. I could do that. Just talk. About me, getting pregnant. Oh, this is not going to go over well. Before I could start to panic again, Yahiko rudely barged in, his hands on his hips.

"Your boyfriend is here, ugly."

"He's not my boyfriend! And don't all me ugly, brat!" I shouted back at him, a vein throbbing in my forehead.

"Why, ugly?"

Faster than lightening, I punched him in the face, sending him flying into the wall. He sat there with a dazed look on his face, a large, red bump quickly forming on his head.

"Remind me to never get you angry." An amused voice said behind me, and I spun around to see Enishi with a smirk on his face. He was dressed in plain jeans and a white button down. A pair of circle sunglasses was perched on his nose and I resisted the urge to laugh at them. I had seen an old-time singer wearing those once, some singer that mom loved. What was his name again? Elton something…

Lost in my thoughts, I failed to notice his walking towards me in his long strides, and before I could react, his lips were on mine. I gasped against his mouth, but he was jerked back as a familiar rooster haired brother pulled him away, murder in his brown eyes.

"That's why I wanted to know where he was." Sighed Megumi, placing her head on her hand.

"Sano, let him go!"

Before my brother could even process my demand, Enishi's hand grasped his and Enishi expertly flipped my twin over his shoulder. He gave my brother a self-satisfied smirk and Sano jumped up, his eyes wary but no less enraged. Yahiko joined him, and I sighed in exasperation. I grabbed the two hot-blooded males by their ears and dragged them to their room, slamming the door on their faces. "Stay!" I yelled through the door, ignoring their screams of protest. Wiping my hands, I walked back to the main room and flashed Enishi a quick smile, looping my hand through his. "So, where are we going tonight?" I don't know if it was the fact that my stupid brothers showed up and got rid of my nervousness, or Enishi's actual presence that calmed my nerves, but I was suddenly calm and my normal self again.

He was giving me a strange look, but he led me outside nevertheless. Megumi followed behind us, and I turned to her to give her a quick hug. "Keep an eye on my brothers please," I whispered in her ear.

"I'll keep them in line, don't worry." I swore that I saw a pair of fox ears pop up on her head, and shook my head to relieve it of that hallucination. I was suddenly worried for my brothers' safety.

Enishi led me to his hovercar, a sleek, black number with beige leather interior. He opened the door with a mock bow, his eyes still looking amused, as well as another emotion I couldn't name.

"What?" My tone was sharper than I wanted, but Enishi had continued to shoot me those looks throughout the whole car ride.

He chuckled. "You're an interesting girl, Kaoru."

"Gee, thanks."

He laughed outright at my sarcastic tone, and ruffled my hair in response. I growled at him, but I had a smile on my face. It's a good thing I don't spend much time on my hair; either it's loose around my shoulders or in a high ponytail.

"So, what's so interesting about me?" I twisted my hands on my lap, refusing to meet his eyes. Did he mean interesting in a good way or a bad way?

"I can't figure you out."

"That's all?"

"You also remind me of someone close to me."

I waited for him to elaborate, but he never did. Tired of waiting, I just blurted out, "Who?"

He refused to answer, instead pointing to a building we were quickly approaching. "That's where we are going for dinner."

I gasped, delighted. "That's my favourite restaurant!"  
"The Akabeko?" He had a note of surprise in his voice, and I grinned.

"Yes, I used to work there for a while. The owner's daughter is my friend."

"Excellent food."

I nodded in agreement, a wide smile on my face. I haven't been to the Akabeko since mom and dad died, as it was too lavish for our budget and I sincerely missed Tae. Even though she was a few years older than I, we had bonded quickly over my short period of employment there.

When we walked in, a smiling, brown haired woman enthusiastically greeted us. Our gazes locked, and a wide smile broke out on her face. "Kaoru!" Her faint Texas accent was always emphasised when she was excited, and at the moment one could definitely tell she was a Texan.

"Tae!" We embraced, and Tae looked over my shoulder at Enishi.

"Who do we have here, eh?" There was a twinkle in her eyes that reminded me slightly of Megumi. I backed away and took Enishi's hand in mine, but allowed him to introduce us. I didn't really know what to call us.

"Enishi Yukimoto, I have a reservation for seven."

Tae's smile was understanding, with a hint of mischief and I inwardly screamed. Yes, I loved seeing my friend in over a year, but on my first date ever? Awkward.

She showed us to our seats, and with a twinkle in her eyes she announced that our waitress would be with us soon. Enishi and I sat in awkward silence, both of us fingering the menu with feigned interest.

"So you did-"

"How did you-" I started at the same time.

We both grinned at each other, and indicated the other go first. I shook my head. "No, you start first. My question wasn't that interesting anyways."

Enishi gave me a small smile. "So you did some kind of martial arts? That punch you threw at your brother was in perfect form."

"You know something of martial arts?"  
"I travelled to China in order to better study the ancient arts." He replied simply, as if it were no big deal. I merely gaped at him.

"Well, my training wasn't as professional as that. My father owned and ran a dojo at the corner of our street. My brothers and I used to train with him every afternoon after school. Sano became bored and tried other forms, but Yahiko and I have been content with out father's style." I explained quickly, twirling the ice in my glass of water that our waitress – a small, mousy girl – had placed before me sometime in our conversation. "Actually, " I continued thoughtfully, "Yahiko has been spending a lot of time at the dojo lately, training with the older students. I think he's trying to get stronger. I also now he's started training the smaller children more regularly."

"And yet you were still able to throw him into a wall." Enishi added, a bemused smile on his face,

I gave him a triumphant grin. "Just because he may be getting stronger doesn't mean that he's stronger than I."

Our waitress came back and politely asked us what our order would be. I gave mine quickly and so did Enishi, but his eyes were on me the whole time. It made me shift uncomfortably in my seat, bringing to the forefront of my mind the topic I desperately, and at the same time really wanted to avoid, talking to him about.

"Um, Enishi…" I didn't really know how to continue, so I just blurted it out in a quick succession. "''mgoingtobehavingababy."

"What?" For a hopeful second, I hoped that he had misheard me and I could easily brush it off, satisfied that I told him even of he didn't understand me, but the fury in his dark eyes made me instinctively shrink into my seat. I forced myself to sit up straight and meet his eyes.

"Yes. The implantation is scheduled for next week."

Enishi's hands were gripping the table to hard that I feared that his hands may gouge the ancient wooden table (wooden tables had long ago been replaced by the more modern glass-and-steel types, but the Akabeko was a restaurant that thrived on it's old ways; that was why we had a waitress and not a tablet from which we ordered our food and have it delivered to us through a section of the table). "You're going to be pregnant?" I heard the barely constrained anger in his voice.

"Yes."

"And who is this person you are having the baby for?"  
"The respected Dr. Megumi Takani."

"The father?"

"Someone randomly selected from the pool of sperm donors." I held his gaze, daring him to make a scene. If he wanted a fight, he will get one.

He leaned back in his chair and ran his hands through his hair. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So that if you saw me showing signs of being pregnant, that you won't feel that you got me knocked up last night." I answered in a calm tone.

"We used protection." He answered in the same calm voice.

"Accidents happen."

He sighed, but before he could say anything more our young waitress brought our food for us. She placed the bowl of steaming rice before me as well as a selection of cooked vegetables and beef. Enishi had ordered the soup, and we both elapsed into an awkward silence as we ate our food. I was measuring his reaction, and found myself slightly disappointed. I had hoped that he would take it more calmly, and that we could talk about it. He had shown to me tonight a side of him that I never expected: that he was hot-headed and slightly irrational. I felt resentment start to build in me as I realised he had no reason to get so angry, that I was still my own woman and could make decisions on my own. Also, why would he even get angry? We were barely dating! He should not have taken such offense at my statement. So what if I was getting pregnant? I was not his to order and to covet. As these thoughts progressed, my previously happy night soon turned sour in a matter of a few minutes.

* * *

By the way, if you couldn't figure out what Kaoru said when she confessed to Enishi her whole being-a-surrogate-thing, she said, "A couple weeks ago I agreed to have a baby for someone so I'm gonna be a surrogate mother, but this was before I met you and I think you are a cool guy and all but I just want to tell you I'm going to be having a baby."

Ok, vote: do you want Enishi to be part of her life anymore or not? I can make the story swing either way, but I can't seem to decide whether to keep Enishi or not. Plus, there's that sick love of his sister that always gets in the way…Just say in your review what you want.

Hope you had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	7. Implanted

Hi everyone! I'm soooo sorry! I'm so horrible to you guys-I barely update anymore! And it's not like I don't have the time, I do! It's just that I get so addicted to manga . Forgive me?

* * *

I spent most of the week swinging from blind panic about the procedure to anger to Enishi's response to pure puzzlement as to why Kenshin kept popping up in my thoughts. My brothers were _not _happy with me.

"Kaoru will you just sit down and eat?" Yahiko was glaring at me as I paced the length of the room, fuming.

I ignored him. "How dare that bastard judge me like that? He doesn't know the half of it! What gives him a right to act that way to me?"

"That's it! I'm gonna beat his ass," Banging his hands against the old time wooden table, Sano stood and started to march out of the kitchen. I quickly blocked his way.

"Wait, no Sano! I have my operation tomorrow and I don't want you to leave me! Please?" I clung to his shirt, tears starting to brim over. Those damn hormonal pills Megumi has me taking has me going from one extreme to another. I am not a happy woman.

Sano huffed and sat back down and didn't slow down his eating at all. I whacked him on the upside of his head, causing him to spit out the few spoonfuls of soup he had just ingested. "What the heck was that for?" He yelled, glaring at me.

"You're eating too fast!"

"I'm hungry, and if you would just sit down and eat instead of interrupting us and agonising what you have to do tomorrow then I won't be so hungry!"

"Fine!" I plopped down on my chair and stared glumly at my cooling soup. I sighed and started stirring it around, wishing that I had steak. With fries. And chocolate. And lobster. And...but I can't. "I hate this!" I screamed, pushing the soup away from me and stalking away.

I collapsed on my bed and cried. I hate this. I hate drinking soup because all we could afford was meagre amounts of ingredients so the only thing we _could _make was soup. I hate having to get paid to get pregnant so I can continue my education. I hate working at Target. I hate that my parents died.

I felt someone sit next to me on the bed and a warm, comforting hand started rubbing calming circles on my back. "Kaoru, I know this is hard for you. If you really don't want to do it, then we can call Megumi and politely decline. It's not too late."

I sniffed and looked up at Sano. "Really?"

He nodded, his face unusually solemn. "I know how much you hate this lifestyle, Kaoru."

"I told you, I can just drop out of medical school and work full time-"

"And I told you that I was not going to allow that. Kaoru, you're a genius. And this is your passion-I can't allow you to give that up. You won't be happy if you're not doing something that you love. We'll make it through with or without Megumi, don't worry about us."

"Sano…"

He chuckled and ruffled my hair. "C'mon Kaoru, don't look at me like that,"

"Like what?" I asked, indignantly wiping the remainder of my tears from my cheeks.

"Like if I'm the best brother ever." He winked. "Of course I am…"

"Oh, you're impossible!" I threw my hands in the air, but smiled at him. I quickly leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Sano."

"Hey, what are brothers for?"

"To annoy the living daylights out of me." He laughed, but conceded the point.

"You gonna call Megumi or not?"

I thought about it. Megumi paying for my school bills has already helped us out a bit. Now we have a few more dollars to pay our electricity bills and other necessities, so really I'm acting like a spoiled brat. "Nah. I was being stupid. I'm going to do this."

Sano nodded, satisfied with my answer. "When you get that look in your eyes, I know that you will do it." I smiled at him, and he ruffled my hair again. "Now get some sleep, lil sis."

"By twenty-three minutes!"

He just grinned and closed the door.

* * *

The next day, Aoshi came and picked up Sano and I. We left Yahiko home; I didn't want him to see me. I don't know what the procedure requires and how I'll be after, and I really don't want Yahiko to see me like that. I had also protested to Sano coming too, but he insisted. Like me, when he gets an idea in his head, it's hard to shake him from his conviction.

When we pulled up at the clinic, Megumi was already there and waiting for us. She gave us a friendly smile, and the white overcoat she was wearing made me a little jealous. I can't wait to wear one myself.

As we were walking through the hallways of the small clinic, I finally gathered enough courage to ask, "Who is doing the procedure?"

Megumi chuckled, and I thought I saw a pair of fox ears appear. "Me of course!"

I stopped. "You're serious?"

"Why not?"

"I thought you were specialised in another area…"

"I am. I mainly deal with critical and strange cases where I would have to discover a cure. Most times my patients die. I just want to try to create life for once." Her expression was so melancholy, it reminded me of the first time I saw her. She had seemed so lost then too. Now that I know her better, I realised that the first day in Target was an off day for her. To be honest, I had come to see Megumi almost as a friend.

She led me into a sterile, white room with a large chair in it. She closed the door with an ominous click, and I closed my eyes.

* * *

I'm not going to describe it to you; I don't know if I can describe it myself. All that remained after was a throbbing pain in my lower regions, and instructions by Megumi to check in only if I started to show symptoms of a regular pregnancy within a month or so.

A month passed, and I went about doing my normal business. School in the mornings, work in the afternoons. Life had regained its normalcy. Yet, instead of thinking of when I could get out of work quickly or agonising what I should attempt to cook that evening, my thoughts revolved around my baby. Technically, it's Megumi baby, but it is my egg. And thoughts of my baby caused me to think about its father.

Which is probably why I'm standing in front of his front door, my hand poised above the doorbell.

A little FaceBook stalking and Megumi's access to his medical records gave me his private address, where he lived with his adoptive father and sister. When I finally got the courage to ring the bell, I only had to wait a total of three seconds before a _very _enthusiastic girl answered the door.

"Hello!" She was a little shorter than I, with her hair in a long braid and gleaming green eyes.

"Misao…?" I think that was her name.

"Hai. How can I help you?"

My mind went conveniently blank. It has been about a month since her birthday and since I last saw her brother, and I had no viable excuse. What was I doing here?

Misao's eyes went from welcoming to suspicious. "How do you know my name?"

"My friend and I were…invited…to your party last month." I said tentatively.

"Oh. Ohhhh. You're the one who was friends with that really tall guy with the serious eyes, ne?"

"Yes, that's Aoshi."

She squealed. "Come in! You have to tell me more about him! Ever since I saw him, I couldn't get him out of my mind!"

I allowed her to drag me into her house, and I gaped at the sheer size and grandeur of it all. Even though there was nothing to suggest that they were rich, there was a certain…aura about the place that spoke of them being wealthy. The decorations were simple but tasteful and elegant. As Misao dragged me from into her house and up the stairs to what I assumed was her room, she sat me down on her bed. "Now, tell me everything."

"About Aoshi?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yessss."

"Um, he's the silent type. And strong. And…he doesn't speak much."

"Really? Well I speak more than enough for two people, or so dad tells me. What else?"

"He is much older than you."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I've had enough with the jerks my age. Plus, Kenshin usually scares them off."

I perked up a little at the mention of his name. "Kenshin?"

"Yeah, my over-protective older brother. Wait, I never caught your name. What's it again?"

"Kaoru Kamiya."

"Huh. I don't know you, yet you were at my birthday party…which was invitation-only."

"Yeah, well, a friend wanted to come and she didn't want to come alone…"

"The one in the red dress?"

I stared at her. "How the heck do you remember that?"

She tapped her head. "I have a great memory. How else can I be a ninja?"

"…What?"

She laughed. "I have been obsessed with anything ninja since I was a kid, and dad and Kenshin have their samurai thing going on."

I stared at her incredulously. "Really?"

"Yup! So anyways, what are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighbourhood."

"And you wanted to stop by?"

"Yeah. My friend gave me your address and I wanted to meet you since I did kinda crash your party…"

"Why haven't you come earlier?"

"I've been busy with school and work…" Lame, lame, lame! She'll see through me in an instant!

"Huh. Well. How about you stick around for dinner? It's a Saturday and dad and Kenshin should be back from their practice soon."

"Practice?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. They have this habit of sneaking out into the woods and practising their samurai skills. Sometimes I follow them to see if they notice I'm following them, but I always get caught." She pouted.

"They won't mind?"

"Why would they? You're my friend, and I think dad would be happy to see that I can make serious friends!"

"How do you know I'm serious?"

"You said you were busy with school and work, right? That's serious."

"If you say so…"

"So, tell me more about Aoshi!"

I sighed. Dinner couldn't be further away.

* * *

I don't know how long I spent there answering her questions about Aoshi (of whom I had minimum knowledge, so we ended up FaceBook stalking him. That turned out to be a dead end because he had the most private profile I have ever seen. So I added him and Megumi…strange that I didn't add them before. But, then again, what is the protocol for this? Do I add her while I'm pregnant with the baby, then un-friend her after she adopts him or her? Hmm, I have to think about that.) While we were on FaceBook, Misao had me add her as well and she showed me all her friends and gave a million anecdotes about them. She was also fascinated that I was in medical school four years early.

"I even stayed down a year, and you skipped four! Amazing! You're now my best friend! Isn't there a saying that if you hang out with smart people, you will start being smart too?"

"I don't think it works that way…"

Completely ignoring me, she continued, jumping up and down on her bed in excitement. "Oh, and I can also get a job with you! Wouldn't that be fun? We can work together!"

"Misao, I don't know…"

My protests were cut short when we both heard the door slam shut. "You bakka desshi, you still have a lot to learn!"

"Hai, Shishou."

Misao sighed as she stood and left her room, me following meekly behind. "Excuse my father and idiotic brother. They sometimes lapse into Japanese." Never mind that I heard her speak a couple words of Japanese herself...

I barely heard her, though, for at that moment Kenshin came up the stairs. His gi was open slightly to show his chest and he had a katana in his hand. We froze when we saw each other.

"I know you from somewhere…"

* * *

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	8. Family Dinner

"I know you from somewhere…"

I froze at Kenshin's soft words. Did he? A part of me – a large part, I admit – really wanted him to remember me, but another part wished he didn't. My fists clenched with tension and anxiety.

"…You're from my university!"

I stared at him. "I don't think so."

"You are! Kaoru Kamiya, the medical student. Aren't you?"

My mouth dropped open. "Wha-? How?"

"Everyone talks about you. You're only nineteen, right? A couple years younger than I, but you're already in med school."

"This little girl? Really? Don't make me laugh Kenshin!" A man's loud voice interrupted our conversation, and I jumped slightly at the volume of it.

"Father…"

"I told you, it's Shishou!"

Kenshin sighed and hung his head. Misao giggled from behind me. What was up with this family? Are they all insane? "So, I came here…to see something, and now I'm going to go. Bye now!" I started to dash out, but someone grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me backwards.

"Now, little lady, I want to know why you were in my house." Misao and Kenshin's father towered over me and I gulped. He really was a huge man: broad shoulders (and a strange white-and-red cape draping over them majestically), very muscular, his long hair in a ponytail. He is the polar opposite of his smaller children…even though they _are _adopted. To be honest, he's very intimidating. Too bad I'm not easily intimidated.

"It's none of your damn business, old man." I snapped. "I'm hormonal and I want to leave."

He blinked and then threw his head back in laughter. He clapped his son's back, still chortling, and said, "I like this girl. Much better than that useless, flower-on-the-wall girlfriend you have. She's feisty." He raised his eyebrows at me suggestively and I recoiled. Ew. Who would have thought Kenshin – the gentlemanly, kind, soft-spoken Kenshin – was raised by this old pervert?

"Daaaaddd, I told you, don't hit on my friends." Misao skipped down the stairs and tackled her dad, and surprisingly, he fell to the floor with the small girl on top of him.

"Hai, hai, I'll stop now. Your tackles are getting better, Misao, but-" He flipped the small girl over until he had her arms pinned behind her back, "You gotta work on keeping your opponent there."

"Get offa me! I'm a ninja, not a sumo wrestler! I'm small! Tiny! Attack Kenshin!"

"I will if you get me off yourself."

"Daaad!"

Ok, these people are definitely off their rockers. I'm totally out of here. Before I started to sneak past the two wrestling people – Misao now in the process of flipping her father – I met Kenshin's eyes. He gave me an embarrassed smile and shrugged as if to say, _hey, my family's crazy, but what can you do? _

Maybe I'll stay for dinner.

After Misao successfully pinned her dad down for three seconds, I finally got introduced to him. His name is Hiko, and is actually a pretty damn good cook.

"So, Kaoru is it?"

"Yessir."

"Just call me Hiko. Anyways, Kenshin was saying you're a med student…?"

"Yessir, Hiko sir."

He sighed into his food. "What's with the 'sir'? Makes me feel like an old man."

"Dad, you are an old man."

Hiko glared at Misao, and she gave him an angelic smile. Immediately his face softened, and he smiled a little. I raised my eyebrows as I took a sip of my water. So Hiko has a soft spot for his daughter? How sweet.

"As I was saying before my daughter rudely interrupted – excuse her, she gets it from the wife's side of the family – don't call me sir."

"You have a wife, sir?" Now I was doing it to annoy him.

"No, he doesn't. He can't stand women, generally. That's his way of making a joke." Kenshin's soft voice startled me, but I think it was more because he was sitting right next to me. My heart kicked up its beat a few notches and my breath stopped entirely.

"R-really?" I finally managed to choke out. I gave a pointed look at Misao, my puzzlement obviously showing on my face.

"Misao's an exception. She and I were in the same orphanage, but we didn't really talk much; different age groups, you see. But Father has these charity martial arts classes for the kids of the orphanage, and I guess he saw something in me."

"Yes, when you were five. Now I regret it. You're a useless, baka desshi."

"Yes father."

"It's Shishou!"

Kenshin and Misao just sighed.

"You're horrible!" I stood up indignantly, slamming my hands on the table. "Just because Kenshin didn't live up to your expectations, doesn't mean that you just write him off like that!"

"Kaoru, calm down. That's just the way he is." Kenshin said softly.

"Well, the way he is, is pretty friggin' bad." I huffed as I sat back down.

"I think the only reason he doesn't stand me is because he has Misao."

I turned to him, childishly ignoring Hiko. "What do you mean?"

"Remember how I said that Hiko adopted me after seeing my potential? He saw a lot of potential in Misao, so to train her more, he adopted her. This was about the time he realised I wasn't what he had expected."

"What was he expecting?"

"That I wouldn't be so…"

"He's too idealistic, too naïve." Hiko responded as he dished out more potatoes for himself. "He has the talent, but he's too eager to use it where he is not needed. He has a lot of ability, a lot of potential. He just wastes it. Misao, on the other hand, has a lot of talent but no idea when to apply it. She uses it in all the wrong areas. Like spying and researching that Aoshi guy." At this, Hiko gave her a pointed look.

Misao didn't blush or avert her gaze. She boldly flipped her braid behind her shoulder and said, "Well, I need to find out more about him. He's my dream guy, and Kaoru knows him and is gonna set me up with him."

At this is choked on my water. "Wait, what? I never agreed to that!"

"Of course you did, Kaoru." Misao replied, batting her eyes.

"Why not?" Kenshin's voice was curious.

I spun to Kenshin. "Are you willingly letting your sister go out with an older guy?"

Kenshin shrugged. "Misao is a big girl, she can handle herself."

"This Aoshi person is older than my Misao?" Hiko thundered.  
"Yes! Yes he is!" I answered desperately. I really don't think Aoshi would appreciate me much for setting him up with a high school student.

"Daaad, please?" Hiko took one look at Misao's wide, green eyes and caved.

"Fine. But I need to meet him first!"

"If he even agrees to any of this…" I muttered. Oh boy, what did I get myself into now? First I'm getting pregnant, and now I'm helping a girl get together with some guy who I've heard maybe a total of three words come out his mouth. Kill me now.

After the very lively dinner, I started to walk out alone, checking my phone-watch as I walked out. I had taken it off as the dinner started, so I was only now seeing that I had three missed calls from Sano, and one from Megumi. I sighed, and was about to call Sano back when I heard a soft cough behind me. I spun around and without thinking about it, aimed a punch for the guy's face. It was only when the guy stopped my punch with his hand did I gasp.

"Shit! Kenshin! What the heck are you doing sneaking up on a girl like that?" I yelled, holding my chest. Damn, he scared me, and him looking so damn fine does _not _help my heartbeat.

He chuckled. "I don't think you'll have any trouble fending off anybody with that punch."

"I am so sorry! If I knew it was you-"

"No, it's totally my fault. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you like that." There was a twinkle in his violet eyes that told me that he wasn't sorry at all, though. I grinned.

"So what are you doing following me?"

"I wanted to make sure the lady reached her car safely." He said with a mock bow.

"C'mon. Mock chivalry died in 2010." I joked.

"Oh, well. I like mock chivalry." He joked back, a smile on his face. His face then became serious. "I didn't want to mention it before, but I noticed that you haven't been at Enishi's place lately."

I crossed my arms. "Keeping tabs on me?" Inside, I was really screaming, _holy shit! So he did remember me! _But I couldn't help but feel a little warm inside.

He shrugged. "I like to keep tabs on all Enishi's flings." And with that one sentence, my warm feelings evaporated.

"Does he have many?" I noticed with some shock that my tone was bitter. Was I jealous? I can't be jealous. Could I? I mean, I liked him, but we 'broke up'. I haven't heard from him since.

Kenshin looked at me warily. "At least a new one every month." A sour taste entered my mouth. So I was just a fling, huh? Well, that stupid playboy got what he deserved. Asshole. "But, I haven't seen him go out much anymore. He kinda just mopes around at home. Did you guys break it off?"

I nodded. Enishi? Moping? I didn't think it was possible. "I broke up with him, in a backwards sort of way."

"What do you mean?"

"I told him something he didn't agree with, and we haven't talked since." I couldn't, wouldn't tell him about the surrogacy thing.

He smirked. "Now I see why he's acting like this – he never had a girl break up with him before."

"Well, his ego needs to go down a notch or two. He's not that great that girls should chase after him."

"And yet they do." Kenshin answered, rubbing his forehead. "He really worries me. Ever since he and Tomoe started living away from their parents, he seems to be falling apart."

"How long have you been with Tomoe?" I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"A long time. I think I mentioned this when we first met, but we are having problems…so we are on a break."

"That's too bad." I muttered, but I was trying to suppress a smile. "Wait, were you lying when you said we went to the same university?"

"Nope. You're in the medical section of our school, and I'm in the business section."

"You? In business? I can't picture it."

"Well, believe it. You're looking at the future CEO of some big company." Kenshin replied with a grin.

"Ambitious are we?" I joked, nudging his shoulder.

"Maybe a little." He joked back. "Actually, I'm looking into starting a not for profit business."

My curiosity was piqued. "Really?"

He nodded, his shaggy red hair bobbing with the movement. "I want to help those who can't help themselves."

"What the heck does that mean?"

He laughed. "I want to travel and help anyone who needs it."

I stared at him. "That's impossible, especially these days. The world is at peace and everyone who needs help receives it. Have you not heard of welfare programs?"

"I don't mean like that. Sure, the world is prospering, but there is always someone who needs a little extra help." He laughed softly. "You sound like my father and Tomoe. This is why he says I'm too naïve. He says that I'm going to travel for no reason, and end up being a homeless vagabond and _I'll _be the one who needs the help."

"He's right." I answered, but my mind was being blown apart at his generosity. He would willingly travel, not expecting much while giving as much as he could?

"You think so too? Well, I guess if anything I'll just crawl back home and start really working." He said with a chuckle.

"No, I don't think you should do that." I answered, meeting his light eyes with my darker ones. "If it is something you want to do, really want to do, you should chase after it with all your heart. Your father and girlfriend should understand that and support you, not bring you down."

My statement was met with silence, and I backpedalled. "Of course, it's up to you of course…I'm just talking shi-"

I froze as he wrapped his arms around me. "Thank you," he whispered into my hair. "No-one has ever supported my crazy plan before."

I breathed in his scent and sighed. He smelled so good. Before I could respond (if I _could _respond) he released me and gave me the most sheepish smile I have ever seen.

"Can I take you out to dinner sometime?"

"B-but what about your girlfriend?" I stammered. "I don't want her to get the wrong idea!"

"I told you, she and I are on a break. Plus, this is a dinner between friends, ne?" He responded with another one of those soft smiles.

"Yeah. Totally. So, I'm going to go now. Right. Ok. Bye."

He laughed. "Bye, Kaoru. I'll call you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Um, see you then!" I said as I jumped into my car (the normal, electric kind. Gas cars were outlawed seven years ago, and I wasn't rich enough to afford a fancy hovercar like Megumi or Enishi).

It was only when I reached home later, had a shouting match with Sano and Yahiko that I didn't answer because I was at a friend's, and why the heck do they feel they have to babysit me, that it hit me: I was going out for dinner with Kenshin. _With_ _Kenshin. _The guy whose sperm is now fertilising my egg, the guy who was dating Enishi's sister, the guy whose sister I promised I'll set her up with the 'man of her dreams', the guy who makes my knees weak every time he smiles.

_Dammit.

* * *

_

I want to make Hiko one of those father who dotes on his daughter :] I'm kinda basing his relationship like Carrie Underwood's song, "All American Girl." I already know how he acts with Kenshin, but having him have a daughter is just too much fun :D you know what I also realised? That no-one (or hardly anyone) puts Aoshi and Kaoru as siblings, though they would be the best siblings, at least looks-wise. Black hair and blue eyes…haha anyways.

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	9. Five Weeks

It was Saturday, which meant no work and no school. Where would my brothers find me on a Saturday morning when I had nothing to do? In front of the holographic television watching cartoons, and eating cereal 'cause I'm cool like that.

I was in the middle of an old (emphasis on the old) re-run of the anime series, _Rurouni Kenshin, _when Sano stood up in front of me.

"Sanoooo move your butt." I whined, bobbing around on my floaty chair as I tried to get a better look.

"Kaoru, have you forgotten what you have today?"

"No, I have to watch the end of this episode! I want to see how Kenshin defeats Kanryuu."

He rolled his eyes. "How old are you, five?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and took another spoonful of Lucky Charms.

"Seriously, Kaoru. If you continue to dawdle, you'll miss your appointment with Megumi."

"Oh shit!" I yelled, effectively spilling all my cereal onto my lap and violently bobbing up and down. "Shit, shit, shit, shit! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I screamed as I jumped off the damn chair and ran to get something to clean up my mess while simultaneously trying to clean my shirt.

"I tried." Replied my retarded twin, shrugging his shoulders. I glared at him.

"Help me out here, you rooster-head!"

"Now, now, play nice. I won't help you if you continue to be mean to me."

As I ran past him into my room, I shoved him headfirst into the wall. "Are you going to help me, or stay on your ass?"

I heard him grumble as he picked himself up but whether he was going to clean up my mess or not, I didn't know. I was too busy stripping down so I can shower all of the sticky milk and stuck Charms off of me when I heard someone clear their throat. I was in the hallway in the middle of taking off my shirt when I recognised that voice. I spun around to meet a bemused looking Kenshin, his hands in his pockets.

"Get out!" I screeched as I threw the nearest thing at hand at him, my cheeks burning. "Who walks in on a girl when she's changing?"

"Kaoru, you're in the middle of the hallway." Drawled Yahiko from his doorway. I slammed his door on his face, and ran down to my room, my face bright red. Why did everything have to go so wrong? Thankfully I had a bathroom attached to my room, I didn't have to go back out, but I was still mortified.

Twenty minutes later I emerged, a t-shirt and jeans on. I half hoped that Kenshin would be gone, but another half of me really hoped he stayed. _Why am I like this? _I wondered as I walked down the hall. _He's just a guy. I barely know him! Must be the hormones…_

When I went into the kitchen I was greeted with the sight of my brothers interrogating Kenshin. I hung my head in shame. Those boys…

"So you're twenty-one?" Sano was wearing his serious face, which was just plain comical. "How do you know my sister? What do you plan to do with her? What are your plans for the future?"

"What's your blood type? Your zodiac sign?" Asked Yahiko. As the questions continued, they inched forward to Kenshin.

I sighed. I grabbed the umbrella from our umbrella stand (why do we have one of these again…?) and whacked my two brothers on the head and without missing a beat, turned to Kenshin with a smile on my face. "Sorry about my idiot brothers." I said, ignoring their moans of pain. "They're over-protective and don't realise I'm a big girl."

Kenshin grinned. "I can see that." He then gave the two on the floor a concerned look. "Will they be ok?"

"Yeah, their heads are unnaturally hard."

"You're heartless." Groaned Sano as he stood up. "You damn raccoon."

I hit him again. "Don't call me a raccoon!"

"Kaoru…don't you think you're hitting them too hard? You know they lose brain cells every time they get hit on the head…"

"True. We can't let them lose the few they already have."

"Hey, ugly! Lemme see you try that now!" Yelled Yahiko from the entrance to the kitchen. I hadn't noticed when he had left, let alone grab a shinai…Poising the umbrella in front of me in the position our father taught us, I gave Yahiko a taunting smile.

"Bring it."

Before we could engage in what was sure to be an epic butt whooping on Yahiko's side (he could never win against me…I was the assistant teacher when dad was still alive) Sano stood between us. "I'm sure Kaoru has already forgotten, but she has an appointment." He gave me a look that said, _get rid of the other guy. _

"Ah, shit." I mumbled. I turned to Kenshin. "Sorry about this, but…wait, what are you doing here anyways?"

He chuckled. "I guess it's my fault for not calling before, but I wanted to take you to lunch."

"Oh." I felt my cheeks heat up and I was speechless. "Um, maybe tomorrow?"

"What is this appointment? I can just take you there an wait."

Everyone froze. Sano and Yahiko both knew who he was – I discussed my decision of a sperm donor with them – so they knew that it was his baby (technically) that was growing in my womb. For which I needed to do a check-up on. For which he was offering to drop me to.

If I tell him that I'm pregnant, what will he think? Then again, he hasn't seen me at my best, either. The first time we met was the morning after sleeping with Enishi (the stupidest thing I've ever done), and then when I went and stalked him, and now when I'm mercilessly beating the crap out of my brothers. Yet he's still here. From this moment on, things can only get better, right?

"I don't think you want to do that…" I finally said, slowly.

Kenshin gave a confused look that was so adorable I had to resist screaming, "kawaiiiii." Ok, I'm a freak. Nothing new there.

"Why not?"

I shared a look with Sano. "Umm…it's for girl things…" I said, my voice trailing off at the end.

Obviously Kenshin heard enough because his face turned as red as hair. "Oh. Well, I guess with a sister I'll have to get used to this anyways, ne? I don't mind."

"What kind of man are you?" Cried Sano, grabbing Kenshin's shirt. "When a woman says it's for womanly needs, no straight man would go with her willingly. Are you gay? Come to think of it, you are quite girlie-looking…"

I whacked the back of Sano's head with the umbrella I was still holding. "Geez, Sano! You don't go asking guys that! He's straight! Do I need to spell it out for you?"

"Kaoru, say good-bye to that umbrella. It is getting shredded." Spat out Sano spitefully, advancing towards me, an evil smile on his face. I grinned and again raised my wannabe shinai in my 'ready' position. Even though I cannot hold a candle to Sano when it comes to martial arts, I can put up a pretty decent fight.

"I thought you said she had to go to an appointment?" Kenshin said politely.

And once again, I was distracted from my fight with one of brothers with a shot of reality. "Ah crap, Megumi is gonna _kill _me!"

Kenshin grbbed my hand and before I could protest, he dragged my out to his car (another hovercar! Damn these rich people…) and started driving away, chuckling as Sano ran out behind us shouting and pumping his fist in mock anger. I couldn't stop laughing. "I can't believe you just did that!"

"Well, I figured that you really needed to get to the appointment, and I wanted to have some time with you."

I flushed at this. _Calm down, Kaoru_! I berated myself. _I don't think he meant it that way…_

"Well, thanks for this. If my brothers and I were at it much longer, Megumi would have come and beat all our asses."

"She sounds formidable."

"She is, especially when it comes to her ba-" I cut myself off before I could continue. Unfortunately for me, Kenshin is a smart cookie.

"Were you about to say 'baby'?"

"Um, no?" I said, a wide grin on my face. He wasn't buying it.

"What do you mean by 'baby'? Is she your mother?"

I admit it. I laughed. A lot. The thought of Megumi being my mother when she was just a few years older than I was just so funny, plus with her personality, oh Kami! My mirth couldn't help but spill over. "No, Kami, no."

"Then what is it?"

I immediately sobered. "Do you really wanna know?" I met his violet eyes with my dark blue ones. "I dint want you to think badly of me."

"I don't think that's possible." He replied, and my heart jumped into my throat.

I stared at my clenched hands on my lap. "Well, she kinda bribed me."

"Into doing what?" Was there a hint of anger there?

"Into having her baby." I whispered into the tension.

"Her…baby? So you're a surrogate?"

"Well, yes." I refused to meet his eyes. Oh my gosh, I messed this up. I can't believe the scale at which I messed this up. Two guys will leave me within a month of the other because of what I'm doing.

"How did she bribe you?" I was expecting a tone of condescension, disgust or even hatred, but not this tone of tenderness.

"Well, Sano and I work to get through with everything: the bills for the house, Yahiko and my school bills, y'know. We weren't really doing very well because the minimum requirement for a really good job is at least a Bachelor's and we don't have that, well, unless you count me. Then Megumi pops out of nowhere with this ridiculous proposition that she pays for my tuition if I have her baby, because she can't have one even though she really wants one."

"I don't think that having a baby is that bad." I looked up in surprise. Kenshin was staring forward, his eyes on the road. Sensing my eyes on him, he faced me and gave me a big smile. "I think you're really brave to be having a baby and giving it away."

"Really?"

"Yup. Plus, women sell themselves for much less honourable reasons."

I hummed in agreement, though I was still a little disappointed that he thought me dishonourable, even if it's a little. The rest of the car ride was passed in an awkward silence, and when we reached Megumi's clinic I immediately hopped out. "Hey, Kenshin, if you wanna go, you can. You don't have to wait for me." I said to the ground. I couldn't look him in the face.

A slamming door answered me and I looked up to see Kenshin getting out of the car. "Are you kidding me? I said I'll take you to lunch, and that's what I'm going to do." He gave me such a sincere smile that I wanted to cry. Even with what I had said, he wanted to stick around. Either he really didn't care, or he was someone who didn't go back on his word. I really hoped it was the first one.

I gave him a quivering smile and led the way into the clinic. Megumi was at the reception area, tapping her foot and giving me a pissed off look. "Where were you, raccoon girl?" She snapped. "I've been waiting for ten minutes! You aren't my only client, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry. There were a few complications." I said, jerking my head in a not-so-subtle point in Kenshin's direction. Seeing the redheaded man, Megumi's jaw dropped before she regained her composure.

"Well. Whatever. Just come in." She said stiffly, turning towards the main body of the clinic. Kenshin started to follow alongside me, our hands nearly brushing. I blushed at the close proximity but before I could think something of it, Megumi noticed. "No males allowed, unless you're the father." Which I found was ironic, because he technically is the father…

"Oro, of course." Kenshin rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish look on his face. "Kaoru, I'll wait for you out here, then."

I flushed slightly, still surprised that he is still with me. I nodded and waved awkwardly as Megumi closed the door. Holding her ear against the door, Megumi held a finger up so that I won't speak. Only when (I assume) she heard Kenshin retreat down the hall did she look at me.

"What the heck are you doing with him?" She practically yelled-whispered. Yeah. I don't know how she did it either. The vehemence in her whisper was louder than a shout.

"He showed up at my house!" I protested.

"Randomly, out of the blue?" Her tone was suspicious.

"Um, I kinda went to his house first…"

"Kaoru Kamiya! You're not supposed to get attached to the donors! You stupid, raccoon girl!"

"I can't help it! I'm hormonal!"

Megumi held her head in her hands. "And I'm assuming because he's here, he knows about you?"

"Yes."

"And he's cool with it?"

"I don't know… We haven't really talked about it."

"Geez, Kaoru, you're smart, but you aren't."

"I don't even know what that means."

"It doesn't matter, just lie down."

I did as she said and raised my shirt. She spread some freezing goopy gel on it and started spreading it around with some stick thing. Next thing I knew, I was looking at a little black splotch in my womb.

"Is that my…I mean, your…baby?" I whispered, awed.

"Yup. You're at five weeks, and everything seems normal." Megumi gave me a large smile. "Congrats, Kaoru. We're pregnant!"

My face broke out in an ear-to ear smile. At this moment, everything seemed so bright and full of hope, that I couldn't help the few tears that leaked from my eyes. As I wiped them away, I mumbled, "Damn hormones…"

Megumi smiled as well and handed me a tissue. "Yeah, well, I'm tearing up too."

We grasped hands, two women brought together by the strangest of circumstances. "Megumi, I think you'll be a great mother."

"You too, Kaoru."

When we walked out (after shedding a few more happy tears) my heart jumped a few notches when I saw that Kenshin was still outside. When he saw me arrive, he stood up and gave an uncertain smile. "Everything is all right?"

"Yup. Totally normal." I replied with a smile. "Kenshin, you should see it! It's so precious!"

He grinned and jerked his head to the exit. "Tell me about it as we go to lunch."

My heartbeat rose and I nodded, too happy to speak. I turned around and gave Megumi a smile and she gave me a thumbs up.

The lunch with Kenshin was nice. It wasn't what I'll describe as a lunch between friends, nor would I say it was a date. It was warm. Kenshin really took it in his stride my strange craving for soy burgers and pickles with ice cream, and he allowed me to gush about the baby. He even seemed excited for me.

"So when do you find out what gender it is?"

I shrugged. "I think that's in the sixteenth week."

"Which gender do you want it to be?"

I thought about it. "Well, technically, it isn't my baby. It's Megumi's."

"Yes, I know, but what do _you_ want?"

"When I eventually have a baby? I want my first child to be a son."

Kenshin looked surprised. "Really? Why?"

I shrugged. "I've always had a brother to look out for me, so I want any daughters I have to have an older brother to protect them."

"But it seems as if you don't need any protection." He smirked, obviously remembering earlier that day.

I blushed. "Yeah, well, they deserve it."

He laughed. "I don't think any daughter of yours would need to have an older brother to look out for her."

I smiled into my ice cream (with a pickle on top) and really thought about it. "Yeah, but there are some things girls need a brother for."

"And sometimes, a brother needs a sister." He replied soberly. When I looked up at him, he was staring in the distance with a small smile on his face.

"Are you talking about Misao?"

"Who else? She and father are the only family I have. Even then, I wouldn't ever want a sister other than Misao. She may be mischievous and annoying and really curious, but she's really sweet." He laughed quietly to himself. "I rely on her good judgment and she softens me."

"What do you mean by 'good judgement'?" I asked, sceptical.

"She warned me about Tomoe, telling me that she was bad news. And she was right."

"You never know…" I trailed off.

He laughed humourlessly. "I saw Tomoe with Akira the day after our 'break'. I don't think I want to be involved with her anymore. Plus, she never smiled so much around me as she does around him. I'm happy for them. We made each other miserable."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Want to know what she said about you?" He leaned onto the table now, grabbing my eyes with his. I couldn't tear myself away. I nodded mutely, once again finding my voice gone. "She said you were a keeper."

I froze. What did that mean? That he likes me? Before I could let myself travel down that road, I took a large spoonful of ice cream and pickle and choked. "Ugh, brain freeze." I groaned, putting my head in my hands. "Maybe ice cream wasn't the best idea."

Kenshin chortled, leaned back in his chair, and toppled over. Now I couldn't stop myself from laughing. He sat on the floor with a dumbfounded look on his face, and my laughs grew louder. He looked at me and started laughing again.

He then paid (against my protests, I believe in men and women paying equally) and took me home. Ever the gentleman, he walked me to my doorstep. For a second I allowed myself to fantasise that he would kiss me, but instead he gave me a bright smile and a wave.

"Kaoru, where were you?" Sano towered over me, his face dark with anger. I stuck my tongue out at him.

"None of your business!" I retorted. "Oh, Sano, Sano, want to see the ultrasound?"

Sano's face took on a weird expression. It almost looked hopeful but kinda scared at the same time. "I don't know, Kaoru…"

"C'mon!" I dragged him to the couch and pulled out the snapshots, forcing him to look at them. I didn't regret it: the expression on his face was like a proud uncle, joyous to the point of astonishment. The glow in my chest increased.

* * *

Ok, this was cheesy and filled with a lot of violence, but hey, Kaoru is hormonal ;) I was thinking of squishing a whole trimester in here and having an extremely long chapter, but I don't have the patience for that :p So I think I'm gonna do one for each month :D

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w

please?

;]


	10. Confusion

After forcing Yahiko to look at the pictures too, I finally collapsed into my bed and disappeared from the conscious world for a few blissful hours. Being pregnant was hard. I had to take this pill before my breakfast that toned down the effects of the pregnancy – the morning sickness and such – and I was eating like a horse. Actually, I'm sure I eat a horse for each meal. And then I feel like throwing it up. Sometimes I do, but not all the time; that's what the pill is for. And I felt like I was PMS-ing _all the freaking time. _Yeah, that one isn't so much fun.

The bright side was that the pill hid most of the symptoms of the pregnancy, so I'm able to attend my classes and go to work without raising suspicions. Yet. It isn't like there aren't people getting pregnant all the time (some men have even been getting pregnant lately. Honestly, as a doctor-to-be, I think that it's a perversion of nature and should never be attempted. Then again, people are weird, and with the technology we have now, why the heck not? If they want to go through all the wonders – not! – of being pregnant, then let them. Just…don't allow them out in public yet. It's kinda freaky) I just never wanted to be seen as one of _those _girls. I always prided myself on having high standards and being the modern definition of classy, and I was originally planning on having my first child when I was happily married, as I told Megumi. So me being pregnant, with all the joys and downfalls of it, is a strange and bewildering experience. I'm happy that I do not have to worry about my school fees for the remainder of my school life, which at the rate I'm going, is only a couple more years anyways, but at the same time I'm sad that my first child isn't even with a man I love and when I'm married. Technically, my first child isn't even mine.

At this morbid thought, I chuckled to myself. Megumi sounds like that old fairy tale, stealing my child as a payment for turning various materials into gold and keeping the child unless I guess her name. Unless she has a secret name that I am not aware of, our story is almost identical. Which is slightly scary. Is there a moral to this? Don't give her my child? Pay my own dues? But at the same time, I know that Sano, Yahiko and I are struggling enough as is. We want to hold onto our old family home but it's proving to be more costly than we had first anticipated. Megumi's offer came as a God-send. Plus, if I do decide to keep the child, them Megumi would retract all her financial support and then we will have a baby to take care of on top of everything else. This is the smarter choice.

Right?

Right.

-x-

As I was saying, life continued on normally. I went to classes, fought with my brothers, and went to work. Kept in contact with Megumi a little, and she showed up randomly on weekends to bring some food or something. I personally think that she was coming to spend time with Sano. Sano, being the daft boy that he is, wasn't picking up on Megumi's not-so-subtle hints that she may be interested in him. I guess he cannot get it through his thick skull that a beautiful, older woman like her would even be interested in him. I honestly don't know what she sees in him. I don't think she knows herself.

I occasionally talked to Misao and sometimes saw Kenshin in school. He and I were not exactly friends, but not exactly acquaintances. It's not like we shared a meal or spent time with each other since the last time, no matter how much I wanted to, but I understood why. Finals were around the corner, but summer was rearing its lovely head. Two more weeks and I'll be scot-free. I was looking forward to calm days at home, and work on afternoons. A predictable, soothing routine before going into back into the hell that is med school. By now I was about a month into my second trimester, so when I returned to school I would be at the end of my pregnancy. I was even considering taking the semester off or doing classes online instead, because I really didn't want to go to school with my belly protruding like a sore thumb.

So while I was planning all these wonderful, expected things, a certain green-eyed girl was planning something totally different.

Something such as pulling up to pick me up after my last final with her dashingly handsome brother in the front seat, to stalk Aoshi.

"What?" I almost screamed at her when I heard her plan. "Nuh-uh. Count me out."

"Kaoru-chan, you _promised_!"

"I promise a lot of things. And I recall that I was forced into promising." I retorted, walking beside her car. She was following me slowly, a line of cars lengthening behind her as she kept up with me.

"Um, Misao, do you want to pull over?" Asked her brother, casting anxious eyes at the line of impatient college students behind them. She dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"C'mon! I know you don't have anything better to do! And you can't use class as an excuse. I waited a whole extra week for you to finish with all your finals and stuff."

I gave Kenshin a quizzical glance. "Her school ended last week, and she has been itching to chase down this Aoshi guy ever since. She has been practically bouncing off the walls. It was hell," was his answer.

"I wasn't that bad and you know it, you baka." Misao replied sharply. She returned her attention to me. "C'mon Kaoru, or else I won't call you my friend anymore."

It was such a childish statement, but it gave me pause. In truth, I had never had a friend ever since I started skipping grades like how Sano and I used to skip rocks, and the fact that Misao was offering her friendship to me without any strings attached, any animosity of anger or jealousy….well, I really wanted it. Call me a sap or whatever, but I really like having friends.

"Ohhhh…fine." I hemmed, finally jumping into the convertible. Misao did a little whoop of triumph and sped away from the curb at what I'm sure was a good sixty miles per hour in a fifteen miles per hour zone.

-x-

Twenty minutes later, Megumi joined us. She had called to see where I was, because I wasn't at home, and after I explained the situation to her I swear I saw a pair of fox ears pop above her head. "Hooking up Aoshi with this girl sounds interesting. Count me in!" And so, Misao, Kenshin and Megumi were all formally introduced as Misao speeded at a hundred miles per hour down the freeway.

I am going to die.

Megumi directed us to his house, and I was surprised at how far away it was from Megumi's. I had assumed that because they were so close and he was practically her chauffeur/bodyguard that they would live relatively close. However, he lived approximately thirty minutes away even with Misao speeding and weaving. I felt sorry for Aoshi even more.

When Misao finally parked in front of Aoshi's house, I immediately jumped out and sat on his well trimmed grass. "Land! Sweet, sweet, land! Oh, how I have missed you so!"  
"You're such a baby." Scowled Misao as she jumped out of her car. "I don't drive _that _fast."

Kenshin, Megumi and I all answered in chorus: "Yes, you do."

Misao humphed and turned away from us, towards the house. She and Megumi walked up to the front door, leaving me on the grass and Kenshin leaning against the car, his hands in his pockets.

"So, how's life?" I asked to lessen the awkwardness.

"Good."

"Classes?"

"Fine."

"Your father?"

"Crazy as ever."

"Tomoe?"  
"Engaged."

I was expecting a myriad of answers, but that certainly didn't make my list. "Come again?"

"She's engaged to Akira."

"Um, haven't they been together for only a month or less?"

"Yup."

"Well, this is awkward."

Kenshin laughed. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, it think it's kinda obvious that you're angry with her for marrying this new dude and I think I may have ticked you off."

At this, Kenshin finally met my gaze. "Me? Angry with you? No, quite the opposite."

Ok, I admit it. His words made me feel all fluttery inside. I couldn't help the small smile that spread on my face. "What do you mean?"

He crouched down in front of me so that we were at eye level. "I think you are terribly fascinating."

I gulped. "Fascinating how?" My throat was really dry. His nearness made me feel really nervous, a feeling I had before. But it couldn't be true, I refuse to let it be true. I refuse to acknowledge this feeling.

Kenshin's gaze was like a magnet, or a horrifying event, in that I couldn't look away. After holding my gaze for what felt like eternity, Kenshin leaned away from me. "I don't know. I can't stop thinking about you and what you are doing. I don't know whether I think it is a perversion, or a testament to your strength and determination."

Oh, I sincerely hope it was the latter. The thought of this captivating man thinking of my actions as being a perversion made it hard for me to breathe. Hoping to lighten the mood, I interjected, "Or maybe it just shows how broke I am." I gave him a weak smile, one that he didn't return. My smile died on my face.

I got up from the uncomfortable atmosphere and dusted of my behind. "Well, I should go and see how 'Operation Aoshi' is going." I refused to look him in the eyes. I felt as if I just got a slap in the face, but for some reason his rejection of me hurt more than I thought it would. Why did this man affect me so?

Before I could turn away from him to go into the house, he was suddenly in front of me. He captured my eyes with his compelling ones and my feet stayed rooted where they were. Kenshin took a careful step towards me, then another, then another, until we were only a breath apart. My breathing was becoming ragged at his proximity, and I fought to calm myself. He lifted his arm slowly, as if afraid of startling me. "I offended you. I apologise. That was never my intent." His voice was soft, and if we weren't standing so closely, I'm sure I would not have heard him. He gently brushed a strand of hair away from my face, tucking it behind my ear. His touch was light like a butterfly's wing and my breath hitched at the contact. I couldn't look away from his violet orbs. He lowered his arm, slowly still, until it touched my stomach. I was already showing slightly, but so far it only seemed as if I was gaining weight. It was easy to cover with flowing dresses and shirts. His hand tenderly brushed the area where the foetus was being formed into a human, his eyes never wavering from mine.

I wish I could drown in the depths of his eyes.

"Hey Kaoru, Kenshin, are you coming or what?" Cried Misao, breaking the spell Kenshin held over me. We broke apart, colour on our cheeks as we rushed to the house.

What the hell just happened?

* * *

**Hey, sorry it's so short. This one was kinda hard for me to write for some reason, though I was happy with the little KK at the end . **

**And could you please tell me of anything you may know about pregnancies, like how many times you should check up on somebody, symptoms, etc.? Especially for the second and third trimesters?**

**Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?**

**r.e.v.i.e.w.**

**please?**

**;]**


	11. PeekaBoo

I was contemplating what occurred between Kenshin and I as I wandered into Aoshi's spacious house. He had the same décor as Sano, Yahiko and mine- a traditional Japanese and simplistic design, all Zen-like. Not like I know much about Zen in the first place.

I think I'm falling for Kenshin, though I do not know how it is possible. We had barely ever spoken, let alone know much about the other. Yet I feel this urge to be by him always and the pull of his violet eyes make me feel like telling him everything. I felt like I could trust him.

Yet, at the same time, I feel as if there is a dangerous part of him that is waiting to be released. I feel as if I should be sacred of him, yet all I want to do is melt into his arms.

My cheeks flushed at that thought. _I must still be hormonal, _I thought. _Wait…is that steak I smell?_

My nose tilted in the air, I followed it with half-lidded eyes to what I assumed was the kitchen. Sure enough, I saw Aoshi grilling a steak on a frying pan on, get this, an old fashioned gas burner! Precious. My mouth started to water, and I was surprised I didn't see anyone else around.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, my eyes trained on the piece of meat he was flipping about.

Flicking the spatula over his shoulder in the direction of the door to what I assumed as the patio, he answered, "Looking at the pool." My gaze snapped up. Did I see him roll his eyes? My suspicion was confirmed as he muttered, "They are such children."

"I'm surprised Misao isn't in here with you."

"The little green-eyed girl? Why? Even though she looks familiar I don't think I have any relations with her."

Instead of answering, I pointedly looked at the steak. "So, are you going to have that?"

He sighed. "I was planning to." He placed the sizzling hunk of meat on a plate and handed it to me. "There's salad on the counter too." He threw another piece of meat on the pan and threw some herbs on top of it. I walked to the counter he had gestured to and placed some salad and dressing on my plate and dug in. Even though I had eaten recently, I was starving again. Strange? Maybe. I blame the little person growing inside of me. Megumi told me that he – or she – should be a few inches long by now. Aren't babies miraculous? Every time I think about it, I get this little smile on my face.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The smell of the balsamic vinaigrette was cutting through my nasal tubes and I pulled my plate away from me.

"Is something the matter?" Aoshi's soft voice startled me.

"No, but the smell of the dressing is really bothering me for some reason."

"Obviously. Your nose is bleeding."

"What?" I brought my hand up to my nose and, sure enough, there was some wetness under my nose. I pulled my hand away and saw a spot of red on my index finger. "Oh God." I put down my plate and walked to the sink, dropping my head over it.

"Kaoru? What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, Kenshin." _When had he come in? I didn't even hear the door slide open! _

A napkin was shoved under my face. "Use this. I don't think I want your blood all over my sink, thank you very much."

I glared up at Aoshi, but took the napkin anyways. "Thanks for the concern."

I saw him shrug out of the corner of my eye. "Your boyfriend is concerned enough to make up for what I lack."

I shot up. "What?"

As I said that, I saw Kenshin start in surprise as well.

"I'm not-"

"We aren't-"

Aoshi walked off, waving his hand and his steak on a plate. "Yeah, yeah. Don't think I didn't see you outside."

As soon as he walked out, the atmosphere in the kitchen got extremely heavy with unsaid words and unrealised feelings.

"Do you need another napkin?" Kenshin said for what I assumed as a way of breaking the silence, but his eyes were genuinely concerned, and I blushed as my previous thoughts about him ran through my mind in rapid-fire.

I carefully touched my nose, and seeing no resulting red splotch, shook my head. "No, it's done now. Thanks." I gave him a smile, and spun around to my food again. Even though seeing my own blood made eating less appealing, it certainly was more appealing to me than speaking to Kenshin with these roiling thoughts in my mind.

"Do you get them often?"

I chewed my meat slowly, savouring the taste of it. Damn, Aoshi was a good cook. Kenshin's intent gaze, however, prompted me into answering. "Nah, not as often as when I was a kid. But then again, that was mostly because I got hit in the nose a lot in kendo class."

He looked amused. "You did kendo?"

I cut a piece of meat and plopped it into my mouth. "Yup, best – and most gruelling – years of my life."

"Which school?"

I placed my plate down, holding down the sudden surge of tears. "My father." I wiped my eyes and faced Kenshin proudly. "Kamiya-Kasshin style."

"I think I've heard father talk about him before. My condolences." He bowed his head but then gave me a wicked smile, which had a tinge of sadness too. "We are both orphans."

I nodded my head. The most curious ties of fate were binding me to this man. We had much in common, yet we were still so different. "So anyways. Um, where did you come from? I never heard the door open."

His eyes sparkled in amusement. "The bathroom. Why so curious?"  
I lifted my chin haughtily. "I pride myself in hearing people's movements."

"Want to play a game then? I'm sure I can beat you at that."

I crossed my arms over my stomach. "Sure, give it a try. But I'm warning you- only my dad was able to sneak up on me."

His grin was so mischievous that I started to doubt myself. Surely he couldn't be that good? Nah, I can win this. So I closed my eyes and stepped away from the counter. I allowed him to lead me into what I assumed was the spacious living room I had walked through, and stood with my head cocked so I may hear him. Surely, even if his feet made no noise, I could still hear his clothes rustle?

The room was dead silent. All I could hear was Misao's exclamations from outside and the low rumble that was Aoshi. I'm sure I could also hear Megumi's light tinkling voice, too. But I couldn't hear Kenshin. A car passed on the street. A fly buzzed in my ear. The sound of my heartbeat was drowning out the in-and-out of my breath as I slowed my breathing. Yet I still heard nothing. _He must be standing still, _I mused. There's no way he could mo-

"Boo." His whisper at the back of my neck startled the crap out of me while at the same time sent chills down my spine. I clapped my hand over the place he had breathed down, spun around and swung my fist; a knee-jerk reaction. I couldn't help it!

Laughing, he leaned away and dodged my attack. "That makes two people who can sneak up on you." His chuckles were getting on my nerves.

"Again," I growled.

He grinned and shrugged. "Whatever you say. Best out of three, I assume?"

I nodded tersely, mulling over how it was possible that he could sneak up on me. I couldn't even hear the movements of his clothes! I looked at him critically. He wasn't wearing anything spectacular- a pair of jeans and a navy blue shirt. However, instead of looking at his clothes objectively, I started looking at how the shirt was taut around his shoulders, and the way it fell emphasised his slim figure, and the way his jeans fit him so well…

"Are we getting on with it or are you too busy checking me out?"

I blushed at both how he had hit the mark and the dirty connotation of his words. _Get your mind out of the gutter, Kaoru! _I stared at him defiantly, and almost gasped. His eyes were burning amber, and there was something in his gaze that made me feel warm all over. He brought a hand up and caressed my face, his touch leaving a hot streak of skin on my face. My breath halted, then sped up. My lips parted, and his smile was almost predatory. Then, as if nothing had happed, violet began swirling in his eyes again and he playfully closed my eyes.

"No peeking," he reminded me, his soft voice giving me goosebumps. I doubted I could get as calm as I was before, but I tried. My thundering pulse, burning cheeks and my mind replaying the last few moments made it practically impossible. I couldn't stop thinking about how close he was, his eyes, how close we were to doing something I have barely conceptualised in my daydreams because I had dismissed them as impossible, his _eyes…_

How did his eyes change into that colour? I shivered just remembering it. They were dangerous, but at the same time they made me feel extremely excited. One thing I knew for sure, though: even though that was Kenshin, at the same time it wasn't. Either way, I'm harbouring an attraction for this red-haired man, but I had a feeling he was more than he seemed.

At that moment, I thought I heard something to my right. I jerked my head in that direction and opened my eyes to see Kenshin barely five inches from me. Before I could jump away in surprise, Kenshin's hand shot out to grab my shoulder and held me in my spot. "Don't move yet," he muttered, bringing his hands up so that they cupped my face. He stepped closer to me, his hands still holding my head in place. Closing his eyes, he leaned his forehead against mine and started to breathe. Freaked out slightly, but mesmerised by the peaceful look on his face, my eyes also drooped closed. In any other situation, this would have been awkward for me, but with Kenshin, I could feel my shoulders loosening and what felt like years of tension…melt away.

I don't know how long we stood there nor why, but I really liked it. I wasn't aware of anything else but Kenshin, the feel of his hands on my face and his breath intermingling with mine. Unlike all the other times Kenshin was close to me, I didn't feel the urge to jump him. At this moment, this was enough. I didn't need or want anything other than the knowledge that he was close to me without any intention of leaving.

This was enough for me.

I slowly felt him pulling away, and with a sigh, I allowed him. I knew I couldn't hold onto him forever, but it was nice to pretend for a little while. I did one of those ok-that-was-slightly-awkward-coughs and rubbed the back of my neck.

"Told you that you couldn't sneak up on me." I teased weakly, my joints feeling slightly like jelly as what Kenshin and I were just doing – and possibly how we may have looked to passerby's – sank in. We were acting like a couple.

He gave me a smile. "Couldn't pull another one on you, could I?"

I shook my head, a smile forming on my face. "Nope, I'm the best."

"Maybe you should get a reward,"

"A job well done is a reward in itself," I retorted. My back bumped against the low wall that separated the kitchen from the living area, which gives people who now walk into the house a view of the kitchen while still separating the rooms. Which meant that I must have been backing up. Which meant that he was advancing on me. Also, judging by the fact that even though I was literally against a wall and still leaning back, Kenshin was still coming closer to me. This was a different closeness that we had just shared and it made me nervous.

"Are you sure? I think I should reward you."

I dry swallowed. "No, it's perfectly ok. That, erm, meditating exercise was good enough. So yeah. Please move?"

Kenshin chuckled but complied. "I'm sorry, Kaoru-dono. I can't seem to control myself around you…"

The last bit seemed to be more to himself than to me, but I felt I had to respond. "Neither can I." I gave him a sheepish smile. "Maybe something is wrong with us."

"Or maybe, something is right."

I shrugged, not knowing how to answer. What could I say, anyways? I gave him a weak smile, and walked into the kitchen. I had a lot to think about, feelings to sort (though I know for sure that I am undeniably attracted to Kenshin, but _why?_) and a steak to finish. Hopefully it hadn't gone cold yet.

* * *

Thanks to sexy-hitsuhina-forever for the site! It really helped me :D

Sorry these updates are taking so long. Usually I'll blame school work, but really, I haven't had any. My muse has been pretty quiet lately, so even when I wanted to write, I couldn't! it was most infuriating, so I finally forced this one just because I knew that I haven't updated in a while. Note to self: pre-write fics before posting. Writing chapter by chapter then posting is an extremely hard commitment to stick to…

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	12. Summer

Summer holidays. The thing everyone looks forward to after every school year. Parties. Hanging out with friends. Sleeping in til noon. All the good stuff.

…And why couldn't my summer be like that?

Right. Because I'm me.

I don't go to parties 'cause I'm too busy studying or taking care of my idiotic brothers. Mostly the latter. I don't have friends 'cause everyone hates me for being smarter than them. That's not a biggie, that's why I have my brothers. They're amusing enough as is. Sleeping until noon? Yeah, that would happen if, one: Sano would let me, and two: my boss allowed me to get the afternoon shift. Neither were gonna happen.

I had thought my summer was going to be normal, until Misao had dragged my sorry ass to Aoshi's house, where I had a sizzling yet confusing encounter with Kenshin and then got dragged to some boutique in the middle of freakin' nowhere. At least I had Kenshin to share in my pain while Megumi and Misao shopped 'til they dropped- literally. Aoshi had to carry them both to the car after they saw their bills. Then I came home and soaked my swollen ankles.

And every day was pretty much like that.

You would think that I would love it, right? As soon as I got off of work, I got picked up in a hovercar with someone who was blossoming into my best friend and her extremely sexy brother. We would then spend the rest of the day gallivanting around town, going wherever Misao's whims took us. I may have loved it if I was not pregnant and getting bigger by the day, and if I actually had money to shop at the various places she took us. Also, Megumi and Aoishi usually joined us. If Aoshi wasn't there, Megumi would drag Sano along- and they, by the way, were looking to becoming a couple faster than I could pop out this baby. Awkward much?

I would feel sorry for Yahiko if I wasn't feeling so sorry for myself. However, I found out a week into doing this, I didn't even _need _to feel sorry for the kid. He had a girlfriend and spent all day with her.

On the bright side, they fed me whatever the heck I wanted. Oh, and Kenshin was there everyday without fail.

So, a month into this and approximately at the end of my second trimester or beginning of my third, I wasn't exactly sure of the cut-off date (you would think I would know, right?) I was shocked speechless when Misao pulled up at _Target _with Aoshi, Megumi and Sano…but no Kenshin.

"Where's Kenshin?" The question was blurted out before I could control my mouth.

Megumi gave me a smug smile. "Missing your boyfriend already?"

I scowled at her as I jumped in. "He's not my boyfriend. He's just always here, so I was curious."

"And not curious as to my newest hairstyle?" Protested Misao, a pout on her face.

I looked at her disinterestedly for a second, turned to argue with Megumi then did a double take. "Misao, all your hair is gone!"

She grinned. "Yup! I got tired of the braids. Do you like it?"

"Like it? I adore it!" I reached forward to touch her hair, which now barely brushed her chin. "Misao, you look amazing! It really suits you. I'm glad you kept your bangs, though."

She rolled her eyes. "Duh, I was gonna keep those. I have a horribly big forehead and I have to hide it."

Sano rolled his eyes at us. "Ok, if we are done talking about _bangs, _Kaoru, put this on."

He gave me a royal blue dress, tailored for my growing stomach (which was considerably large. Saitou had noticed – his powers of observation never fail to amaze me! – and said that although he does not condone teenage pregnancy, because he knew my parents he would let it slide. Prick.) I held it up in awe. It was obviously done for some sort of formal event, and shimmered in the light. It was strapless, which was perfect because my boobs were growing and I really wanted to show them off.

I gave Sano a strange look. "What's this for?"

Misao did a particularly sharp turn, and I crashed into Megumi. "Owwww," she groaned.

"Sorry, sorry."

Sano had braced himself on the passenger's headrest and his own. He glared at the back of Misao's head. "Great Nascar driver we have here. Could Aoshi _please _drive?"

Misao cackled. "No way! That's no fun. Plus, Kaoru has to get there on time."

"Could someone please tell me where I'm going?" I yelled. Sano began to unbutton my shirt and I slapped his hands away, then punched his face. "Excuse me! What in the blazes are you doing?"

Megumi instead took over, glaring at Sano over my head. "He was undressing you. C'mon we barely have time."

"Time for what?" My voice was getting desperate as I tried to shove Megumi off of me, fight off Sano and not hit my head on the top of the low roof.

"The wedding. Tomoe and Akira are getting married today, and Kenshin asked for you to be his date."

"He couldn't have asked me himself?" I complained. I glowered at Sano as he tried to help Megumi out of my shirt. "And what are you still doing trying to get my shirt off, mister?"

He rolled his eyes. "We're twins. And don't think I haven't seen you naked before, Kaoru."

Yeah, I knocked him senseless for that.

So with Sano nicely sagged against the window and unconscious, I began to help Megumi. Aoshi, ever the gentleman, kept his eyes averted. It wasn't him that worried me, though – it was that infernal twin of mine. Freakin' perv.

While I slipped on the dress and Megumi zipped it up, I tried to contain my glee. Kenshin wanted me as his date! I don't recall him ever asking me, but then again, I'm usually so in awe of his gorgeousness I probably don't hear half of what comes out his mouth. Does it matter?

A little voice inside of me said that it did, but I shoved it away.

The dress was the easy part. The make-up, not so much. Make-up was hard enough to put on in a normal car, and Misao's crazy weaving through traffic did nothing to help the situation. Thank Kami that Megumi had a surgeon's hands. Her hands were steady even as her subject – me – moved constantly as Misao drove.

When I had stepped into the car, I was a _Target _employee. When I stepped out, I was worthy of being Kenshin's date. The deep blue dress reached my ankles and swirled nicely along my extended stomach. Being strapless, it showed off my breasts pretty well while still being modest. It shimmered as I walked, never staying the same colour. Although I could see myself killing myself in high heels, thankfully Megumi had grabbed a pair of shorter, more manageable heels. This had two advantages: one, that I won't kill myself stumbling in high heels, and two, Kenshin wasn't a tall man. I didn't want to be taller than my date.

I wrapped a black shrug over my shoulders, waved good-bye to my posse (blowing a kiss to the wonderful Megumi) and then faced the church, my shoulders squared. I was ready for this.

Or so I thought, until I saw two particular men.

Both were strikingly handsome. Even though one towered over the other, they were both outstanding in their own way. I immediately recognised them, of course. Enishi was handsome in a dangerous way, his white hair spiked despite the formal event. His shirttails were not tucked into his pants, his jacket was unbuttoned, and his tie loosened. Despite his ruffled appearance, though, he still looked put-together somehow. He was dressed in a white tuxedo and black shirt, with shiny black shoes. Kenshin, on the other hand, was dressed perfectly. He had his hair in a high ponytail, which was basically the only difference. He was dressed in the traditional black tuxedo and a deep blue shirt, which I assumed was to match me. his shirt was neatly tucked in and ironed, his jacket was buttoned and his black tie was well done.

Although Enishi attracted me physically, the way Kenshin held himself, his aura, something, made me crave him more. The more I compared the two, the more I fell for Kenshin. Geez, I'm hopeless.

They noticed me at the same time. If I were looking at Enishi, I would have noticed his initial look of wonder soon followed by a sulky anger. He stormed off into the church quickly. However, I didn't have eyes for Enishi, but for Kenshin. He looked as if he were in awe, and I blushed bashfully.

"Why, Himura-san, it's impolite to stare." I said in a mock southern drawl.

He grinned at me and took my hand, placing a kiss on my knuckles. "Not when the lady looks as beautiful as you, Kamiya-dono." He replied, in the same southern drawl I had adopted. I giggled, and he grasped my hand in his. He gestured to the church grandly, in a sweeping bow. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

He led me through the doors of the massive church, and I couldn't help but stare at the marble doorways and stained glass windows. It was all so stunning, and peaceful. The pews were strewn with white plum flowers and ribbons. He led me up to the fifth row on the left, and we sat softly. "Sorry I had Misao drag you all the way here," he whispered.

"It wasn't a problem. I was expecting her to come…I just didn't expect this."

He chuckled softly. "I meant to ask you, but I chickened out." His thumb was caressing the back of my hand, which was extremely distracting. As in, I couldn't pay attention to what he was saying. So I grunted in response. "Kaoru, after the ceremony, would you come with me to the reception? I also want to speak to you there."

I met his violet eyes with mine. "Of course. I won't turn down a free meal," I joked.

As I said that, the bridal music began to play and I stood and turned to face the entrance. Tomoe was gorgeous as ever, with a off-the-shoulder white gown that bunched and flared at her waist. If I had worn that dress, I would have looked like a poofy disaster. On Tomoe, it was stunning. Her hair was curled and pinned up and she had a modest veil covering her face. Hover-cameras whizzed about her, taking her picture as she slowly walked up the aisle.

After getting my fill of jealousy, I turned to look at Akira. He was a handsome lad, if you like the kind of guy who had the kind face but stuck to the rules. At least, that's what he looked like to me.

The ceremony was all right, as far as wedding ceremonies go. It's usually the reception that makes or breaks a wedding. For Tomoe and Akira's wedding…well, let me just say that this was one of the best weddings I've been to.

I danced until my feet hurt, and had a steady supply of...water. With the baby, I wasn't allowed to drink any alcohol, because, you know, I'm also legal (not). Yet, without the alcohol, I was slightly giddy and unsteady on my feet. Thankfully Kenshin was there, even if he was a little tipsy. His face was slightly flushed and somehow during the night he had discarded his jacket and his tie was now loosened.

The combination of the water and my pregnancy sent me to the bathroom many times. On my fifth trip to the bathroom, as I left the stall I saw the bride herself. I gave her a smile. "Congrats."

What I didn't expect was the hostile glare she gave me. She turned towards me, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen, I don't care what happens between your legs, but when it comes to screwing with my brother then Kenshin, your business becomes mine. Enishi has been sulking for the longest time I've seen him, and Kenshin is like a brother to me."

"Yeah, after _you _screwed _him _over," I spat back. I didn't deserve this! She was being entirely unfair.

Tomoe's glare grew even more intense, and I didn't even see it coming. The slap resounded in the bathroom. I swear, if it wasn't her wedding day, I would have beat that bitch so freakin' hard, she won't be able to walk for a month. But it was only because she it was her wedding.

She stalked out, but before she slammed the door, she gave me a smirk. "Do you even know who the father is?"

Well, mild insults I could take. But that blatant accusation that I was a slut who couldn't keep track of who I slept with was the last straw. I may have said it to spite her, or I just wanted to finally say it, but I did. I gave her a triumphant smirk. "Kenshin."

Her shocked look was priceless, and totally worth breaking the confidentiality agreement I made with Megumi. However, my heart sank as I saw the person standing behind Tomoe with an equally astounded face. He looked at me in shock, but shock turned into insight and then quickly anger. Kenshin stormed away from me before I could say anything.

See why I had liked my previous summers? So much less drama.

* * *

It's so funny. Last time, I complained my muse was silent. This time, my muses – actually, they're twins – were overly talkative…for the wrong fics. I've been writing everything but fanfictions lately. So here I am, finished with one story that I've been slaving on for more than a year and forcing myself to go back to my fanfictions. Maybe these fanfics would be the last I do…or at least, until my muses decide to shut up about my other works. As a reader told me, you guys came first! So I will finish this story for my readers :)

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	13. Fight

I chased after Kenshin, unsure what to say but knowing I had to say _something_. I couldn't say something like that without explaining myself.

If only Kenshin wanted to hear my explanation. The man would not slow down, no matter how many times I called his name! And he cannot play deaf with me- I know his hearing is just fine.

I finally reached him when we were in the parking lot. Pissed, hot, and feeling overly heavy, when he finally stopped to listen to me, I punched his arm. "That's…what…you…get…for…running…away…" I panted as I held onto the arm I had just punched. Taking a deep breath in then out, I straightened and released my tight grip on his arm. "Ok. Listen to a girl talk, would you?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "What else do you think I'm doing out here?" Before I could open my mouth and launch into my tale, he continued. "You know, I had a funny suspicion that it was you. The timing was too perfect! I had been called in to donate my sperm and then, I see you, and you're pregnant. I thought maybe Enishi was the father, but he's too honourable to leave a pregnant girl. Plus, from the story he told us and his attitude lately, I figured you broke up with him. I don't figure you for a bed hopping slut either, so I knew it couldn't have been another guy." He raised his eyebrows. "There wasn't another guy, right?"

I shook my head quickly and felt my cheeks redden. "No, no. Enishi was the first guy I, you know, since high school."

Kenshin's shoulders sagged in relief and he leaned against his car. He ran his hands through his hair. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Well, there was that confidentiality agreement I had with Meg, which I guess I just blew. And then would come the uncomfortable question as to why I chose you."

He looked up at me then meeting my eyes for the first time that night since the truth was out in the open. "I would never ask that."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, well, I thought you may have."

"Well it does raise questions. What I'll like to know is not why you chose me, but why did you suddenly appear at my house, all those months ago?"

I sighed and leaned down to take off my shoes. No matter how comfortable they were, I wasn't comfortable in them. "Well, that traces back to why I chose you. Meg and I didn't want only an extremely good-looking guy, but we were also looking for personality. There was one other guy besides you, and we had decided to do a sort of 'try out' for both of you. I went and visited the first, and honestly, he disgusted me. His way of thinking was so against my own.

Anyways, that's where you come in. Meg did some research into you and your family, and found out about Misao's party. She somehow got us in, and the rest is history."

"That doesn't answer my original question." He replied. His expression was inscrutable.

"Well, I chose you because you were so unexpectedly kind to me. I guess I was curious as to what kind of guy randomly helps a stranger that his girlfriend's brother slept with." I said with a rueful smile.

"A guy who wonders why such a nice girl would even _think_ of sleeping with that guy." He shot back. His expression became serious again. "So, technically, it's Megumi and my baby?"

I blushed scarlet. "Um, no. Megumi had a hysterectomy so it's our kid. That Megumi is adopting. Somehow."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Well, I don't know about you, but I think I would have rather impregnated you the traditional way."

I laughed nervously, sure he was joking, but when his serious face persisted, the laughter died in my throat. I looked away in embarrassment. There was an awkward silence for what felt like an hour, where all I could think of, _yes! That would have been fantastic! Better than Enishi! Say something, stupid! But what do I say to that? _So I said nothing and blushed furiously.

He continued to stare at me intensely, amber swirling into his violet orbs, when he suddenly looked away. "Let me take you home. It's late."

"Yes, and I have a curfew," I joked, hoping to dissolve the previous tension.

He didn't respond but he did open the door for me. I figured it was a good sign. If I wasn't sure of his thoughts or feelings about me, well, I was even more confused now. He must think I'll rather sleep with Enishi than him, after that little hint he dropped me.

Kenshin suddenly jerked out of my line of sight. I heard the sickening _smack _of skin hitting skin, and I quickly undid my seat belt. As I was about to step out of the car, a towering shadow above me appeared. I looked up slowly, my hands frozen.

Enishi's cheeks were flushed, and he was heaving. He grabbed my arm roughly and dragged me out of the car, and I shouted in protest. "Enishi! What the heck are you doing?" I cried, smacking his hand to no avail. I began to look around for Kenshin. He was face down on the asphalt. "Kenshin!" I yelled, willing him to get up. "Kenshin!"

"Stop calling that bastard's name." Enishi growled, pulling me close.

I glared at him and spat in his face. "I'll call his name as much as I want." I retorted.

He shook me violently, his hands bruising my skin. I closed my eyes tightly, a scream stuck in my throat. I had brought this upon myself, I'm sure of it. No way would Enishi acted this rashly if I didn't better explain myself to him, or if I hadn't come in the first place. I knew it was Tomoe's wedding, of course he'll be here! Hasn't everyone been saying that Enishi hasn't been the same since we parted? And yet, all I could think of was spending time with Kenshin. Stupid, inconsiderate me!

My eyes snapped open when Enishi suddenly stopped shaking me. I looked at his face, actually _looked_, and saw tears silently streaking his face. Then he was tackled from the side, and we both went down.

I propped myself up onto my elbows, slightly stunned. _Who was that?_ Someone was straddling Enishi, and I heard him grunt as the guy on top of him punched him. Even though I recognised the red hair, I didn't recognise the face. Kenshin had totally transformed- his eyes were now burning amber and his lips were curled in disgust.

Enishi bucked and threw Kenshin off, and I felt dread permeate my chest. Enishi had height and length on Kenshin, and he was more muscular. Kenshin wouldn't be able to stand a chance against him! I silently begged Kenshin to just back down, placate Enishi somehow, but it didn't seem as if either guy were willing to step away. Enishi lunged, my hands came up to cover my eyes before I saw Kenshin get pummelled…

…And then I saw Kenshin _move. _

Kenshin's movements were so fast, I couldn't track them. In Enishi's drunken state, I was surprised when Enishi blocked Kenshin's first attack. Kenshin was like a wasp, darting in and hitting, and then ducking back out. Enishi was hard-pressed to lay a hand on him.

I was mesmerised by their dance, for it truly seemed like a dance. I was filled with the desire to see these two men fight in a tournament, when there was no alcohol in their blood system. They were expert fighters, and I knew that if Enishi was not drunk, it would truly be a magnificent fight. As it was, Enishi was stumbling and barely hitting Kenshin. But when he did manage to land a hit, Kenshin would stagger backwards. Kenshin may have speed and agility, but he didn't have the raw power Enishi had.

I was too wrapped up in the fight to stop it. I was sub-consciously memorising their moves, filing them away for Sano…or myself. I really did miss fighting.

Although I was watching the fight with wide eyes, others weren't. Not even a few minutes into the fight, a security guard came barrelling towards the two men and tried to break them apart. Enishi smacked the man's hand away and glared at him. I literally saw the man shrink away from Enishi's intense gaze, and felt sorry for the man. However, the few seconds break seemed to clear Kenshin's head. His bloodthirsty look faded off his face, and violet swirled into his eyes once again.

He gave Enishi a contemptuous look, one that Enishi returned with a sulky scowl. Then Kenshin walked over to me, his face once more the gentle guy I knew. He extended a hand to me, an apologetic look on his face. "This one is truly sorry for throwing you down, that he is."

He pulled me up from the ground and I gave him a rueful smile. "That was fantastic."

He frowned. "No. I lost myself and my emotions got the best of me. The way he was holding you…" His voice trailed off, and Kenshin looked in Enishi's direction. The younger man was stiffly walking away, favouring his right leg.

I then studied Kenshin more closely and gasped. "Kenshin, you're bleeding!"

He immediately touched the right side of his face. "It's just a scratch, Kaoru. I think I got it when he threw me down."

As soon as he mentioned it, I noticed the pink area around the graze. He was going to have a wonderful bruise there the next morning. I touched it softly and he cringed at the brush of my fingers. "Sorry," I whispered, pulling back.

He caught my hand and kissed the tips of my fingers. "No, I'm sorry for allowing Enishi to creep up on me like that and take you."

I shook my head. "No, this was all my fault. If I hadn't…"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "What? If you hadn't slept with him, then realised what a hopeless cause he was and dumped him, what? Things happen for a reason, Kaoru."

"Ah, but still…"

"'What ifs' only succeed in driving you mad. Come, let me take you home. It's been one hell of a night."

I wanted to argue further, but Kenshin's tone suggested that he was done with the subject. He may have been finished talking about it, but that did not mean that I was finished musing about it.

In fact, the problem kept me up all night long.

I continued to think that I had somehow led Enishi on. But hadn't he walked out on me after I told him that I was going to be a surrogate? I couldn't remember; my memories were all muddled and my emotions were roiling. I didn't know what to think.

The next morning, feeling like crap and just wanting coffee, I stumbled out of my bedroom.

"You missed work today," called Sano from the kitchen. I grunted in response and continued my zombie walk to the coffee maker. "Wow. You look like shit."

I glowered at Sano. "Thanks for the compliment, genius."

For some reason, Sano looked extremely interested. "So, what happened last night between you and loverboy?"

I ignored him and poured my coffee. However, Sano was not going to let it lie just like that. He began to poke my arm, going, "Huh? Huh? Huh?" with every poke.

I smacked his hand away. "Nothing, ok? He and Enishi got in a fight, then we came home. End of story."

Sano looked impressed. "Well, what do you know? My nerdy sister has two guys fighting over her. Who would have thought."

I was seriously considering how good Sano would look with coffee all over him right now.

I rolled my eyes and walked back into my room. "What should I tell Saitou when he calls again?"  
"Tell him it's pregnancy stuff." I shot back.

When I had finally _fully _awakened – which included finishing two cups of coffee, a shower and watching an hour of White Collar – I had a plan in mind. I couldn't let this thing bother me for the rest of my life. Somehow, I was going to make this right.

I threw on a sundress – the easiest thing to wear when preggers – and grabbed the keys to our car. As I was opening the door to go outside, I heard a _tsk tsk tsk _sound behind me.

I turned slowly and saw Sano smirking at me. "Now, now. You can't drive, can you? Or at least, I don't think you should be."

I shook my head in exasperation. "Well, I gotta be somewhere."

Sano held his hand out. "I'm driving. No ifs, buts or flat out nos."

I weighed the possibility of me out running him to the car, but immediately knew that it wasn't possible. I sighed in defeat as I handed the keys over.

Sano gave me a winning smile. "So, who's first? Enishi or Kenshin?"

I forgot how smart Sano could be sometimes.

* * *

*gasp* Is it true? Am I really updating _on time_?

Why, yes, yes I am. A little short, but what the heck? This is what summer does to me xD

Any thoughts? Comments? Criticisms? Like it? Hate it? Love it?

r.e.v.i.e.w.

please?

;]


	14. Confrontation

I knocked on the door, holding my breath. A part of me wished he was not home, and another part did. Thankfully, Sano did not come. He was patiently waiting in the car…if my brother was ever 'patient'. I told him that there was a café on the corner, and he could chill there. I also gave him money through my debit microchip; I loved these things. You could instantly send money from one to another. Sano was always asking me for money for food, or to pay off his tab at the Akabeko.

Just as I was about to go back to Sano, thinking he was not home, he opened the door. His face was still groggy, and he was dressed only in black boxers. His hair shone and dripped with moisture, and he was drying it with a towel. When he saw he, he frowned. However, he didn't slam the door in my face.

I walked in after him, closing the door behind me. "Enishi…"

He spun on me, his face furious. "What? What do you want? Do you want to rub it in my face that you're having that _bastard's _child?" He shouted, gesturing at my swollen stomach.

I reached out for him, and at my touch, he quieted. His chest was heaving, and he looked away from me. "I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but Megumi had me sign this privacy thing, and then I realised how much you'll be exposed to Kenshin and I didn't want him to find out…"

He scoffed. "And yet you spend almost every day with him." He shook his head in disgust and walked to his couch. He sat down and propped his elbows on his knees, and lowered his head into his palms.

I followed at a slower pace and sat opposite him. "I never meant to."

He laughed humourlessly. "And I never meant to let you go." He then looked up at me, his dark eyes piercing mine. "Life never works out the way we mean for it to, does it?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't."

He looked away from me, his hand over his mouth. Removing it quickly, he said, "You know, I've wanted to call you every single day since I dropped you home from the Akabeko."

"Why didn't you?" My voice was soft.

He shrugged and leaned back, his arms crossed over his chest. "I guess I was scared that you'll turn me down. I did not, and still don't, know how to deal with you being pregnant."

"I admit, if you had called me I may have hung up on you. But that was only the first week. Any time after that, and I would have seen you again. I _wanted _to see you again," I admitted, shocked at how true the words were.

He leaned forward abruptly and grasped my hands in his. His face was earnest, and I found I could not look away. "Would you take me back? You've been the only thing I could think about for the last few, agonising months. I really want us to try again."

I hesitated. Technically, I was single, and free to date whomever I wanted. And while I was still attracted to him (and him being in boxers alone wasn't helping my thought process), I knew I was falling for Kenshin…that I had been falling for Kenshin for a long time.

But was it still possible between us? He was courteous enough to me last night, but I knew there were still unresolved issues between us.

Enishi's face fell into a guarded expression. He leaned back, his eyes as cold as ever. "It's Kenshin, isn't it?" Even though he stated it as a question, it was more of a statement.

I nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. I then gave him a weak smile. "Maybe in another life."

He grunted. "Maybe."

"I want to say 'let's be friends', but we both know that it won't work that way."

"So, is this it?"

I bit my lip. "I don't want it to be," I said, "but I think it should be."

He nodded glumly and then gave me a half smile. "If it doesn't work out with Kenshin, call me."

I laughed as I stood up. "Sure." I extended my arms for a hug, and he seemed to be wavering between the decision to leave me hanging, or to hug me back. He decided on the latter. He crushed me to him and tilted my chin up so I met his eyes. Before I could react his lips were on mine and he kissed me, hard. Then, faster than I could return the kiss or even think he released me.

His grin was mischievous. "I couldn't resist."

I wanted to be angry at him, but I smiled back, giving him a playful whack on his arm. "I'm irresistible."

He moaned in agreement, placing a stray strand of hair back in place. As he did that, his fingertips stroked my face and I stiffened. I was joking, but Enishi seemed to have moved into a serious arena.

I backed away, and the hungry look in his eyes faded. He gave me a rueful smile. "Sorry, Kaoru. You should probably go now before I lose myself."

I nodded and gave him a half wave. "See you around, Enishi." I said as I walked out.

His smile was sad and he closed the door. "No, you won't."

While I was sad that I was leaving him, I also felt as if a large weight was lifted from my shoulders. I came downstairs and, as I had thought, Sano was in the café, wolfing down what looked like the remains of a chocolate croissant. Suddenly hungry, I grabbed the rest of it from his hand. He scowled at me, but wiped his hands on his jeans without an argument.

"How was it?"

I swallowed. "Depressing."

He smiled and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Well, one more to go!"

I groaned. If anything, this would be the harder one.

The drive to Kenshin's was shorter than I had hoped. I wanted to think of some brilliant speech, but I couldn't think of anything. All I could think of was Enishi's sad face when I had left. He looked so heartbroken…

Before I knew it, we were there.

Sano took one look at me and sighed. "Ok, I'm coming in for this one."

'What? No, no, it's ok, I can live…"

He glared at me. "Kaoru, I'm not sitting in the car the entire time. I'll go and entertain the weasel."

I stared at him. "You know she doesn't like being called that."

His grin was devilish in its mischief. "I know. That's why I call her a weasel."

I rolled my eyes at him and opened the door. Sano slammed his door a few milliseconds after I did, and we walked up to the house together.

As I raised my hand to knock, Hiko opened the door almost instantly. It was one of those cases of he's leaving when I'm now entering thing without knowing the other was on the other side of the door, so it scared the crap out of me. As in, I jumped a foot in the air and screamed.

Hiko…wasn't much better. If anything, I think his scream was higher pitched than mine. He caught himself faster than I did, and he was laughing as I clutched my chest to stop my heart from hammering against my chest.

"Kaoru! Nice to see ya," he shouted (does he ever speak in a normal tone of voice?). He thumped me on my back and stared at me. "You've gained a lot of weight. Exercise and diet, that's what I always say!" He gave me a huge grin and I stared at him incredulously. He then looked at Sano, a look of distinct dislike upon his features. "Who're you?"

Sano, instead of backing down, rose to the challenge in Hiko's voice. "Sanosuke Sagara."

I rolled my eyes at him. Ever since he had heard about the great fighter, something-or-the-other-Sagara, he has been calling himself thus ever since. "No, he's my twin brother, Sanosuke. No Sagara. He's an idiot."

Sano bristled but Hiko cut off his angry retort. "You're here for my daughter?" There was a dangerous glint in his eyes, and I placed a hand on Sano's arm to caution him.

Sano, as usual, ignored me. "So what if I am? Kaoru is here for your son, I'm here for your daughter. What are you gonna do about it, Gramps?"

Man, I really wanted to whack him. And, I'm sure, Megumi and Misao would have joined in. I almost giggled at the thought of three girls beating the crap out of the teenage boy, but my giggles would have been seen as highly inappropriate at this point of time.

Thankfully, Misao traipsed down the stairs and saw us. "Kaoru!" She yelled, launching herself at me. I barely caught her, nearly toppling over. Sano's hand automatically shot out and caught me, as did Hiko. The two men glared at each other, and it was only then that Misao realised my brother was there. "Sano, what are you doing here?"

He gave her a smug smirk. "To tease you, you little weasel-girl."

I couldn't stop it, and I really didn't want to. Both Hiko and Misao's fists shot out, hitting my brother square in his jaw. It's only because Sano has an unusually hard head that he didn't fall unconscious right then and there.

"Stop calling me a weasel!" Misao shouted, pummelling him further with an umbrella. (Don't ask me from where, I have no idea. The thing just appeared in her hand, I swear.) Hiko stood behind her, cheering her on. I rolled my eyes at the trio, momentarily forgetting why I was here.

That is, until I heard his soft chuckle behind me. I froze instantly and stiffly turned around. "Kenshin, I'm so sorry about last night-" He shushed me, and gently took my hand. He led me into the house and up the stairs to what I assumed was his bedroom. It was sparsely furnished, but he had a great collection of CDs and books. Even though I was interested in his archaic collection of CDs, I was more engrossed in his bookshelf. Books had long ago been replaced by electronic readers, such as the Amazon Kindle (which was still as popular today as it was when it was first introduced), the Barnes and Noble Nook (which died off a few years afterwards), and so on. Real books, the books that got published on paper and bound, were rare. And this man had the largest collection I have ever seen, outside of an antiques store.

I ran my hands on their spines, some of them in mint collection, but the majority were cracked from use. A faint smile decorated my face, and I turned to face Kenshin. "This is amazing."

He looked away from me, his face flushing. "It's nothing."

"No, this is truly extraordinary…I have a few of my parents' books, but I mostly read from my Kindle."

He laughed nervously. "You may think I'm weird for saying this, but I prefer paper books."

'They're beautiful," I admitted, "but why?"

He shrugged, absently tracing a particularly worn book. "I dunno. It feels so much better when I'm flipping through the pages myself, and I love the smell of the paper."

I smiled, looking at the collection again. It included a variety of topics and authors, stretching from fiction to non-fiction, from fantasy to science fiction, from textbooks to bibliographies. They were organised, from what I can tell, by genre, author and then title.

"Wow." I whispered. This was the last thing I expected of the red haired man. Then again, Kenshin surprised me all the time. My thoughts became serious, and my hand dropped from the books to rest on my stomach. "Kenshin, about last night…"

He sighed, but he looked at me expectantly. "I figured you were here to talk about it. And I'm done talking. I don't want to know."

"But I want you to know."

He was angry, I could tell. His shoulders were tense and he refused to look me in the eye. "What else is there to talk about? You're having my child, and you knew all this time, and didn't tell me. End of story."

"No, not end of story. I could hide behind Megumi's privacy agreement all I want, but I didn't want you to know."

"Why? So you could just give our baby up without feeling guilty?" He seemed to have finally snapped. He laughed humourlessly. "He would have Megumi as a mother. Great. But what about his father? What if he had finally asked Megumi where he had really come from, and she couldn't answer him? What then? Did you think anything through?"

I pursed my lips, trying as hard as I could to not shout back at him. "No, I guess I didn't."

"Exactly. If you haven't realised, these last few months, the bunch of us have gotten really close. Did you hope to have the baby and that we would all disappear? If you haven't realised, Megumi and Sano – your twin! – are dating. You and Misao are best friends. And you and I…well, I don't know about you, but I had hoped after you had the baby, we could be together."

I blushed scarlet, both from his confession and the truth of his words. "I didn't plan for any of this to happen, you know." I said softly, tears brimming in my eyes. "And if it's anything to you, I had hoped so too."

He growled in frustration and began to pace. "What do we do now?"

I sunk to the floor, holding my face in my hands. Tears were now falling freely down my face. He was right; I hadn't thought anything through at all. This was all my fault. If I hadn't appeared on his front door, if I hadn't listened to my hormones that night, we wouldn't be here now. I would probably be at home, eating cereal and watching my cartoons.

I didn't hear him, but I felt the heat from his body as he sat next to me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and I turned my face into his chest. If Kenshin had any sense, he should have kicked me out.

But Kenshin always did what I didn't expect.

He kissed the crown of my head and leaned his head upon mine. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't want it to turn out like this." I heard the smile in his voice. "If I know you as well as I think I do, I suspect that you came to check me out again. You're such a curious one."

I hiccupped as I nodded into his chest. "So, any ideas of what we should do?" My voice was thick with tears.

He sighed. "I guess the old cliché really plays in well here: we just take it a day at a time."


	15. Shopping

The next few days passed quickly. Kenshin and I seemed to have reached a sort of impasse; unable to move our relationship forward, or move it back to the easygoing friendship we had before. It was now all awkward pauses and timid smiles.

It was during my check-up with Megumi that it was brought up.

Meg was moving the sensor to and fro across my stomach, and I smiled when I was rewarded with a sight of the baby. The gel was cold, but not unbearably so. Meg had a satisfied note in her voice as she professionally checked the babe. "Ten fingers and toes, and the growth seems normal."

I knew Meg had checked the gender and kept a secret from me (on my own request), but really, the mystery was literally keeping me up at night. I've heard that "a mother knows" but it was less of knowing and rather a feeling. And I had to confirm that feeling.

My voice was uncertain as I asked, and my eyes scanned her face for her reaction. "So, he's healthy?"

She nodded, her eyes trained on the screen. "He's fine. If anything, we may be growing a little _too _fast, but we'll see." Then the effect of her words seemed to have hit her and she grimaced. "Sorry, Kaoru. I didn't mean to spoil it for you."

On the contrary, I was ecstatic. I laughed and bounced up and down in joy. "I knew it!"

She gave me a quizzical look and rolled her eyes. "You're such a child, Kaoru."

I gave her a look. "Well, duh. I'm only nineteen after all."

She gave me a funny look. "Wait, still?" Then she started talking to herself, and I totally lost her to her mumblings. "Well, of course. If she's still nineteen, Sano is too and I'm not such a bad girlfriend to miss his birthday…and he won't let me live it down if I did…" Her face blanched and she became extremely intense. "Kaoru! When is your birthday? Please, tell me. I can't let Sano tease me about not knowing his birthday. _Please._"

"Megumi, it's on my file, if you're so interested," I said, feeling like an adult who's dangling a piece of candy on front of a kid's face, when there was a jar of the stuff behind me. Like the figurative child, Megumi could only see the immediate solution.

She gripped my hands. "No, please, just tell me."

I laughed. "Fine. It's actually pretty close; in about two weeks. Sano and I don't usually celebrate our birthdays because we've always had conflicting ideas about it. Also, we could never agree on the number of guests and who would come. As the years passed, our friends grew fewer and we just enjoyed our birthday less and less." I smiled faintly at the memory of our sixth birthday. I had wanted a princess themed party, and he had wanted ninjas. Our parents' compromise? Ninja princesses. Neither of us was happy about that.

Megumi looked extremely satisfied. "It's on the Saturday, right? Ok. Misao and I can plan a party by then, and you and Sano would have the best twenty-year old party ever."

"It'll be the best party we'll ever have just 'cause we now share the same group of friends," I said. In all honesty, I didn't want a party. Being at the centre of attention isn't exactly my cup of tea.

However, at my comment Megumi became quiet. I was expecting some sort of comment from her, or at least a running commentary of how they were going to do the party, but she was instead staring at me intently. "So, what's up with you and Kenshin?"

I froze. "Nothing."

She shook her head. "Don't 'nothing' me. Nothing usually means something."

I sighed. "No, I really mean nothing. We're not together, but we're not apart."

Megumi made a face as she tried to make sense of what just said. "So, there's been no development?"

"Nothing. Well, he did find out that this was his baby…"

Megumi's dark brown eyes flashed in anger. "What?" Her voice was dangerously low.

I sunk in my chair. "Didn't I tell you?" I asked feebly, knowing that I didn't. I just assumed Sano told her.

She pursed her lips, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You know I can sue you for breaking our agreement."

Fear lanced through my heart. We didn't have the money to spare if Meg did sue. And if she did…the effects of my stupid, irrational and spiteful comment towards Tomoe would not only result in the ending of any hope between Kenshin and I, but also destroying the first friend I've had in a long time. Megumi may not be the most ideal friend, or even one who I liked most of the time, but she had something about her that made me look forward to seeing her. And, I kinda hoped she'd be my mentor when I interned. I mentally killed myself. How stupid could I be?

Obviously she saw the fear in my expression, for she put a calming hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't. I guess it was inevitable considering the amount of time we've been spending together. Truly, when this first started, I only wanted to monitor your progress and make check ups and such. I never expected…this."

I smiled, wondering how alike this conversation was to the one I had with Kenshin, without the heat of an argument. "Me too."

"It's all your fault, you know," she reprimanded, wagging a finger at me. I would have taken offense if she didn't have a smile colouring her lips.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just a stupid, pregnant teenager." I joked.

"Yup. Now about your party…"

I sighed as Megumi began planning it out.

-x-

I was really wondering why Megumi and Misao even bothered dressing me up. I was big on the point on bursting, and now amount of flowing dresses could hide the fact that I was very much pregnant. I tried insisting the party could wait until I've given birth, but they wouldn't hear any of it. It hurt to stand for an extended period of time, my ankles were constantly swollen and even sitting was uncomfortable. And I constantly had to pee.

I swear, they couldn't wait the next four weeks. No, they had to have it _the day of _our birthday. At least I wasn't the only one who was not thrilled about the party- Sano had protested as much as I had. Megumi had beat him into submission, much like she did to me, but he and I still grumbled. Me, more than him, because he would swing from being angry at Megumi to being totally enamoured.

Y'know, this was a first. Both of my brothers are in a relationship, while I was strung up high and dry. Yahiko's girlfriend –a sweet, timid girl by the name of Tsubaki – was the polar opposite of Megumi. Yet, surprisingly, the two got along perfectly. Misao slightly intimidated the small girl, but she never said anything against it.

Misao wanted a girl's day the weekend before my birthday to look for something for me to wear. So, because she thought the girl was absolutely adorable, she dragged Tsubaki along as well.

Ok, all three girls – even Tsubaki – were accustomed to higher-end stores than I. I, typically, would get my clothes from the cheapest stores possible and but what I felt was the most comfortable. Sure, I looked like I rolled out of bed most days, but it was something that I was comfortable in. Misao and Megumi were fashionable to a fault, and Tsubaki wore really cute, if expensive, clothes. So guess where I was dragged to for my dress? Yup. Those higher-end stores that I never dreamed of even stepping foot in until I met my two crazy best friends.

I grinned at the thought. This baby not only secured my future, but also friendships I wouldn't have otherwise.

"Misao," I wailed as she yanked me out of the car, "Please, can we not do this now? I just want to sleep. And this really doesn't make any sense! Can't y'all wait?" Mind you, I was exhausted because it seemed as if I could never sleep. My body was never comfortable enough, and when I did find a bit of comfort on my bed, I'll need to drag my body to the bathroom to empty my bladder.

"No, a party is supposed to be on the day or close enough," protested Misao.

"Can't this be an exceptions? Its an good exception." I was literally dragging my heels, and Megumi had to join in the effort to move me towards the store.

"But you and Sano would have already been twenty for a month. Now _that _doesn't make sense," Megumi said.

"It doesn't matter!" I yelled, pulling at their hands. Tsubaki followed, watching us with wide eyes. Actually, the whole situation is slightly ridiculous. "C'mon, Sano and I don't care! Only you two fools do!"

Misao abruptly released my hand, staring off at something behind me. Megumi nor I were expecting it, and I toppled backwards, Megumi landing next to me. She was on her side and sent Misao a glare. I recognised that she twisted mid-fall so she didn't land on me- which would not have been good with the baby. Not good at all.

"Misao, what the hell?" We both yelled in unison.

"That's perfect!" She squealed, clapping her hands in delight. Megumi and I looked at each other confusedly. Then we looked behind us, at the boutique Misao was so fixated on.

"Oh _no_."

Megumi grinned at me. "Oh _yes._"

I glared at her. "You're paying. _If _you can even fit me into the thing."

Misao helped us up, apologising profusely, but I brushed her – and my behind – off. I then reluctantly followed them to the store, eyeing the dress sceptically.

I admit, it was a beautiful dress. And it fit me beautifully. And really, I fell in love with it just as Megumi and Misao did at first sight. It's just…it was so expensive. As in, the three-digit range.

Even though Misao and Megumi insisted that the dress is not as expensive as it could be, and we were getting a great deal on it, I still hesitated. My money-pinching ways were hard to kill. So, Misao and Megumi nicely bought it for me as an early birthday present.

I wanted to cry.

I never really had friends, especially girl friends. I was always a bit of a tomboy, and being raised with two boys, I gained some of their boyish ways. I also never understood the fascination with extremely girly things. The only girly thing I liked were princesses, especially the Disney princesses- but that was because all of them were kick-ass and took their life into their own hands. Also, my dad always called me his little princess.

So the fact that these two women were buying my dress and planning my party when no-one ever bothered to know me, well, it was more than me and my hormonal self could take. I burst into tears, clutching both of them to me. I even reached out for Tsubaki, who awkwardly joined the circle. When I was all dried out, I finally let them go. I was surprised that they hugged me back for so long, but maybe they suspected I needed it.

I wiped my eyes and gave them a watery smile. "You girls are the best friends a girl can have."

"You know it!" Chirped Misao, giving me a bright smile. "Now let me organise to have this dropped off to you the day before…"

Megumi rolled her eyes. "Duh." She handed me a tissue, and I gratefully accepted it.

I turned to Tsubaki. "I think you're adorable for my brother."

It was random, but I had this fuzzy feeling in my chest and I just felt as if I should spread it around. She blushed and dipped her head. "Thank you."

Just for good measure, I grabbed the smaller girl and hugged her again. She was so huggable!

Of course, how could I expect the good feeling to last?

I got home to a grumpy Sano. Some guy had goaded him into a fight tomorrow, but it was the same time he had a date with Megumi. He couldn't choose between protecting his manhood or standing up Megumi, with the possibility of being murdered later by his girlfriend.

"Why not call her?" I said, exasperated. I sank into the sofa, kicking my heels up. I sighed, but as soon as I got comfortable, I felt the need to pee again.

"Great idea!" He said, and scampered off to talk to her. From the pleading note in his voice that moved to desperation, I knew he wasn't winning the fight.

I groaned as I got up and waddled to the bathroom. As soon as I relieved myself, my phone wrist watch thing buzzed.

I brightened when I saw who was calling. "Hey, Kenshin!" His face was solemn, and my smile quickly slid off my face. "What's wrong?"

"Could I come by you tonight?"

I nodded, confused. "Sure, but what is this about?"

"You'll see," was all he said before he hung up.

Thoroughly confused, I shrugged and waited for him. And worried. And waited.

What had he meant?

When he knocked half an hour later, Sano had lost his fight to Megumi and was sulking in his room. If I wasn't in such a concerned mood, I would have joked with him and told him women were always right.

I answered the door quickly, and Kenshin looked the same as ever. However, there was a shadow in his violet eyes that warned me that the news wasn't great.

"What's wrong?" I asked, automatically placing my hand on his shoulder. He didn't shrug it off, which I took as a good sign.

he gave me a thin smile. "Where's your kitchen? I'll cook you dinner tonight."

My expression was perplexed, but I pointed him in the right direction. "I hear you're a horrible cook."

"Better believe it," said Sano from the doorway. He gave me a smirk, and by his happy attitude I assumed that the prospect of someone else cooking for him lightened his spirits considerably.

I slapped his arm, but I said, "Yeah. I'm pretty bad. I can't even make cereal and milk."

Kenshin gave me an incredulous look, and pushed his sleeves to his elbows. "Well, my cooking isn't extraordinary, but I'm decent."

"Your food would be a direct improvement than Kaoru's." Quipped Sano. I wanted to hit him again.

Kenshin laughed, and got to work.

Well, his cooking was simple, but fabulous. We all enjoyed it. Even Yahiko, who was now working in the Akabeko with Tsubaki and got free dinner, ate some. After dinner, my brothers filed out to deal with the daily brotherly thing- watch sports. I would join them when it was soccer or some fighting tournament, but that's about it.

I looked at Kenshin as I washed the dishes; he dried. 'So why'd you come over?"

He didn't answer for a little while, and I was about to ask the question again. "My dad is going on a business trip for the next two weeks."

I nodded. "Ok. So you and Misao are going to be alone, no big deal. You're both adults."

"No, he insisted I come with him."

"Oh. Well, that'll be fun. If you want, I can have Misao stay here."

He gave me a smile. "That's great and takes a load off my dad's and my shoulders. We weren't sure what to do with her. But I'll be missing your party."

I shrugged, pretending not to care when in reality I was a little heartbroken. "It's not my party, it's Misao and Megumi's."

"But still-"

"Have fun with your dad. It's fine, really." I tried to sound as sincere as possible.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised, kissing my fingertips.

I grinned. This was the most progress we've made in the past few weeks. "You better. It's a date then."

He then did something I really didn't expect. He pulled me towards him and kissed me full on the mouth. I was so surprised, I didn't respond at first, but then I closed my eyes and cupped his face with my hands.

He smelled like sandalwood.

* * *

**Competition time! Send in what you think Kaoru's dress should look like, and I'll choose the best one :) you can either send in a description, or a picture in a review. I don't have the creative capacity to design her dress. **


	16. Party

It was the day before my birthday, and Megumi called me. I assumed it was for a final dress fitting, or make up consulting, so I had Sano drive me to her mansion.

She met us at the door, a large smile on her face. When I rolled out of the car (I was so big, I really felt as if I was rolling out) she grabbed my hand and ran me up the stairs. I struggled to keep up with her, my breath coming in gasps as soon as my speed had increased. My hand automatically rested on top of protruding belly, and I gasped out, "Meg, stop!"

She did stop, thankfully, in front of a white door. I gave her a quizzical glance and her bright face made me feel suspicious. "What's behind the door?"

She grinned. "Look. It's beautiful."

I raised an eyebrow, but did as I was bid. I slowly opened the door, and baby blue walls greeted me. My breath hitched in my throat as I looked at the rest of the room. The walls were baby blue – as I had noticed right away – with tiny clouds dotting the top of the wall. Around the middle of the walls was a parade of various animals, done in the 3D paint, so they seemed as if they were coming off the wall.

On the wall directly opposite the door, a wooden crib stood with a floating, lit-up mobile. The crib was already filled with a large teddy bear and a pillow, and covered in deep blue sheeting.

There was a small changing table off to the side, already equipped with diapers and wipes, and other baby things. There were two drawers on the changing table, and I walked over to it, slowly. My hand was still on my stomach as I opened the drawers. Inside, neatly folded, lay a variety of onesies in blue, violet, yellow, white…and mixtures, patterns, and all so adorably packed. Tears pricked at the corner of my eyes, and I felt an arm around my shoulder. I looked up to see Sano, and he gave me a small smile. He brushed the tear from my eye, and we both stared at the pile of clothes in silence.

Megumi came up next to me. "Don't you like it?" I looked at her, and wrapped her in an embrace. She relaxed, and started to jabber. "I'm so glad you like it, when you didn't say anything, I wasn't sure, but it was finished last night and I couldn't wait to show it to you, I got so excited…" She took a deep breath and stepped away from me, tears in her eyes. She hurriedly brushed them away and became composed again.

"Meg, I love it. Did you design it?"

She flipped her hair and laughed. "No. I hired the same person who designed Demi Lovato's house to do it."

I sighed, a smile tugging at my lips. In true Megumi fashion, if she couldn't do it, she hired someone else. But that doesn't mean that she didn't leave her mark on it. I could see it in the wood in the crib and table; Meg and I were same in that we appreciated the olden use of wood for furniture. However, that didn't mean we liked the modern furniture less – like my hovering chair, for example.

Just like how she manoeuvred Kenshin and my DNA to make her baby. But she didn't tell me how; it'll be revealed when the baby is born. At the time, I was totally ok with it. I didn't know Kenshin, and Meg was a benefactor – an annoying one, but a benefactor nonetheless.

Kenshin was right to scold me. I had made all of this – this, being the relationships formed in our group – happen, whether I had wanted it to happen or not.

Now, knowing that she had tampered with nature's way to make our baby look the way she wanted, well, it was an abhorrent thought. _he's not my baby, _I thought to myself. _He's Megumi's. She did pay for him. Knowing Kenshin does not change that. _I even allowed myself to fantasise of a time when Kenshin and I may be together…married…a red-haired, blue-eyed boy grasping my legs…

Tears welled up in my eyes again.

I cleared my throat. "So, thought of any names?" I kept my voice light, for her sake. I hastily swiped at my eyes, and turned to face her with dry eyes.

She began conting them off. "I wanted to keep with the Japanese vibe we have-" at the incredulous look I gave her, she glared at me and said, "Yes, I _am _Japanese- anyways, I was thinking of Japanese names. Hibiki, Kai, maybe even Kenji – after Kenshin, but I'm not sure about that one - Kaede, Yuuki…huh. That's all I could think of right now."

I whistled, and Sano rolled his eyes. "That's a lot of great names, Megumi."

"Why do girls only think of these things? Tch."

I put a hand on my hip. "And guys only talk about sports and violence."

He shrugged. "Why not? Those are great topics."

Meg and I gave sounds of disgust. "Yeah, maybe to a guy." Meg retorted.

"And do I look like a girl to you?" Sano rebutted. He then gave Meg a calculating look. "Is that why you're dating me? 'Cause I look like a girl? Oh, Kami. I'm rugged looking! RUGGED! I'M A MAN!"

Meg and I looked at each other and slowly backed out of the room.

"Where are you going? Are you denying I'm not manly? I AM THE MANLIEST MAN ALIVE! RUGGED!"

Meg and I quickly closed the door behind us, and dashed down the hallway, laughing. I couldn't keep it up for long, but it was still fun. Sano burst out of the nursery, screaming, "I'm a man!" He then saw Megumi and I and rushed us.

I squealed, but his target was clearly Megumi. Picking her up over his shoulder, he spun in a circle, still screaming he was a man.

He only let her down when she laughingly admitted that yes, he was a man. He tenderly lowered her to the floor, placing a kiss on her nose. She wrinkled her nose, and gripped the back of his neck. My face was now ablaze, not sure I wanted to see my brother make out with his girlfriend.

I heard Meg say, "Now gimme a real kiss," and barely had time to turn around, away from the smooch-y scene. Ick.

I walked downstairs, trying hard not to think of what my twin and Megumi were doing. Hopefully, they didn't end up in a bedroom. But thinking of them, made me miss Kenshin more. He was already gone for two weeks – he was coming back in three days! – but I missed him so much it made my heart ache. And even though I had told him, repeatedly, that it was all right that he was missing my birthday, it wasn't. I wanted him there. I wanted to dance with him under the stars.

On the bright side, he called me everyday, sometimes twice a day. It was usually to talk about our days, and I could tell Kenshin was trying to take it slow. He had regressed into the way we were before the kiss, which was even more awkward through our wristwatch telephone. I wanted to tell him that, technically, we were having a baby already, but I didn't know what that would trigger. So we just talked. And, eventually, it got easier and more natural to just talk, for hours on end. I can't tell you what we talked about; for all I knew, we were talking about the moon being cheese and how good it'll taste. All I remember is Kenshin's voice, watching his lips form the words, and imagine how warm those lips had felt against mine. And I know that when our conversation drifts off, that he's thinking about it too.

And that's when we would say, "I miss you," and hang up. Because, really, what else is there to say?

_Maybe that I want him here. That I want him, and I think I love him. No, not think. Know. And even though I'm only nineteen – nearly twenty, tomorrow! – I am sure that I want to be with him 'til I die. _

Except I'll never say that. First, it's too intense. Secondly, it's way too embarrassing.

Megumi and Sano came down the stairs, and I giggled. Meg's hair was slightly ruffled, and Sano's lips had Meg's lipstick imprinted on it. "Come on, lover boy, I wanna get home. Misao is probably trashing the place with Yahiko."

-x-

The party was held at Megumi's house, where we got to take full advantage of her mansion and gardens (and superb cleaning agency). I got ready there, Misao and Megumi fussing over every single detail, down to the patterns on my fingernails.

Yes, people, I was wearing nail polish. And not normal nail polish; it was in swirly, flowery patterns. I couldn't wait to get it off, no matter how pretty the blue and purple things looked.

The dress, though, was truly a work of art. It was simple, made of silk, and gorgeous. In a deep, royal purple, the dress reached a little passed my knees. It was a halter that tied under my breasts, and then flowed out elegantly. The tie under my breasts was on my left and extended past the length of the dress. Sure, it sounds really simple, but you had to see me in it. Gorgeous, if I say so myself.

Sano and I descended the stairs arm-in-arm when most of the guests had amassed. I didn't know I was so popular, but then again…a med student who received an invitation from the great Megumi Takani would be an idiot to refuse. I recognised most of the people there, but I only smiled for those in the front: Megumi, Aoshi and Misao. A flash of white caught my eye, and I looked up to see Enishi. He gave me a mocking grin and toasted me, and I smiled back. I didn't want any hard feelings between us, but maybe inviting him to my party was a bit much?

Whatever.

Tonight was my night – well, mine and Sano's – and I was determined to enjoy it to the fullest.

So I danced on my swollen ankles, and laughed and I even talked to other people in my class. Sano's fighter friends were rowdy, but knew how to have a good time, while keeping it clean.

The DJ played a slow song, and I took it as a cue for me to rest my feet so I sat off to the side. I was perfectly content on watching Sano and Megumi sway to the music, and I laughed when I saw Aoshi get led onto the dance floor by a very exuberant Misao. I saw everyone gradually pair up, and I found myself missing Kenshin even more.

Someone stood in front of me. Opening my mouth to argue with him, I took one look at him, and a smile spread across my face. Enishi extended a hand out to me, a smirk on his face. "May I have this dance?"

I really wanted to rest my feet, but how could I say no?

So I elegantly took his hand, and in the most affected accent I could do, I replied, "Why yes sir, you may."

He swept me up from my seat and spun me in a circle. I giggled, and he placed his hands on my…erm…waist. My hands wrapped around his neck, and we swayed. We didn't really move, and I was extremely grateful. I don't know how much I could move.

We didn't speak, but we didn't need to. We had reached an agreement. But I wanted to say something. As I opened my mouth to speak, Enishi inclined his head to his right, my left. "Someone's here for you." His dark eyes were sad, but his smile was genuine.

I gave him a puzzled look and turned to where he had indicated, and the breath stopped in my chest. I vaguely felt Enishi's hands slip from my waist, and he melted into the crowd.

He was dressed in a magenta button down and black pants, a small smile decorating his lips. I stared at him, too stunned to move. When he opened his arms, I ran into them, laughing as I did so. I was so happy to be back into Kenshin's arms, even if it had only been two weeks. A week was far too long for me, far less two.

And then I felt a cramp, and something wet my shoes.

* * *

**The names for the baby are a bit of a joke to me :P I'm writing a manga, and I have a set of twins, one of who's name is Kenji. (If you want to check it out, I have a group for it on deviantART . com. JOINNNN.) The other names are other characters in the manga, with the exception of Kai and Yuuki. Kai is another twin in another story (I really have a thing for twins, someone help me!) and Yuuki…is Fruits Basket XD **

**HINT: The kid's name is one in the list, can you guess which one? ;)**

**The design of the dress was inspired by the picture Steffi27 sent me . Sorry, hun, I didn't stick to the exact design and tweaked it a little (if I was looking at the right picture, in the first place…) **

**And I only realised as I finished I forgot to throw Kaoru a baby shower ^^;**

**Comments? **


	17. Water Breaking

"Crap," I cursed, looking at the dark liquid spreading across the hem of my dress. "And I was being so careful, too." I grinned at Kenshin ruefully, dabbing at the place where I had spilled my drink on him too. "I forgot I had my drink in my hand."

He laughed, and spun me in a circle. "You're wonderful."

I blushed scarlet, but I couldn't help but feel warmed at the praise. I don't know what I did to deserve it, but it felt good to just have him in my arms. I heard a few cheers and catcalls around me, and my blush deepened. Kenshin held my gaze with his violet orbs, and soon I forgot I was surrounded by many people. All I was aware of were his eyes, his mouth, his arms gently caressing mine, the heat of his body as he closed the small gap between us…

He took my lips with his with an urgent need, and I gladly reciprocated. All thought of propriety flew out of my head and I wrapped my arms around his neck, stroking my fingers through his thick hair. I pulled him closer to me as I gasped for air, and he lightly bit my lower lip.

I heard a polite _ahem, _and I wanted to ignore it…until I became aware of the dozens of eyes witnessing this very…er, private scene. I stepped back, my whole face as red as Kenshin's hair, and I was gratified to see that he was also sufficiently embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and gave me a secret smile. I couldn't help but smile back, but I ducked my head at the last moment to hide my reddening face. Our audience raised a loud cheer in celebration, and the party went on.

I was glued to Kenshin's side for the rest of the night. I felt lighter, freer, happier. Words cannot describe the high I was on that night. I felt as if air wasn't heavy enough to hold me, that I would float off into space and never be seen or heard from again.

Thankfully, he stuck with me all night, too. There were periods where I needed a seat, and although I know it must have been very boring to just be sitting next me as I did mothing but people watch, Kenshin seemed very content. He would hold my hand, tracing patterns on the back of my hand. Periodically he would kiss the palm of my hand and meet my eyes with his entrancing violet ones. I would feel myself get warm all over at his glance. I suddenly couldn't wait for everyone to leave.

Near midnight, the robot DJ suddenly stopped the music. This was during one of my sitting spells, so I craned my head as far as I could to see what was going on. Sano came and stood next to me, and I raised an eyebrow. Before I could ask what he was doing, suddenly my whole chair lifted and I was airborne.

Squeaking in surprise, I looked under me and saw who was holding me. Kenshin winked, and Sano gave me a smirk. I hurriedly closed my legs and gripped the edges of the chair, hoping that these two men – who had vast differences in height – would not drop me. I know they wouldn't do it on purpose – scratch that, Sano would – but still.

They suddenly put me down in front of a table, and I released the breath I had been holding with a whoosh. Kenshin pecked my cheek and I turned my face to him, as a flower would to the sun. Then, I heard the age-old song of 'Happy birthday'. I froze. _They didn't… _

They did.

A beaming Misao and smirking Megumi came out, proudly holding a monstrosity of a cake. I don't mean the size alone, but also the way it was decorated. I don't know how she found out, but then again, it was Megumi. She knew everything.

The sides were decorated with ninja princesses, reminiscent of the compromise our parents came up with when Sano and I were six. And, at the top, was an old-fashioned Barbie doll, dressed in all black. She even had the ninja mask.

I couldn't help it. I burst out in laughter, grabbing Sano's hand for support. He was shaking with laughter as well, and we shared a glance. That only doubled our mirth, and I bent over double.

"Sheesh, what's the big deal?" Yahiko could be such a mood killer sometimes.

I grinned at him. "I don't even think you were born yet, but for our sixth birthday-"

"Mum decided to blend our birthday party ideas together-" Sano continued.

"And this was the result!" I finished.

Yahiko looked at the cake, then at us, and sighed. "Mum was so weird."

I giggled. "Yeah, it didn't work."

Sano handed me a knife and I grinned at him. Seeing a mischievous glint in his eyes, I began to wonder what he was about to…

_Whap!_

My smile slid off my face. Raising my hand slowly, I wiped the cake Sano had just generously threw in my face. Black and pink icing dripped onto my dress. I was sure that my eyes were shooting lasers at him as he guffawed. I quickly grabbed a handful of cake, and pulled my arm back.  
"No, Kaoru plea-"

Megumi's voce didn't even reach me, and I pelted the cake at Sano's head. With a _smack _it landed squarely on his grinning face. I allowed a smug smile to cross my face. He swiped some of the cake off his face with his index finger and sucked it, then gave Misao an appreciative look. "Nice cake," he complimented, and Misao sputtered in embarrassment and shock. "Too bad kaoru's gonna be wearing it all."

_Huh?_

Before I could react, he picked up the entire cake and dumped it on me. My hands curled into claws and I was trying very hard to keep the scream of rage from escaping my throat. "Sano…" My voice was tense with all the emotions I was trying to hold in. "Don't you know to treat a pregnant woman well?"

"Ah, damn! You're in for it now, Sanosuke!" I heard Yahiko cheer from behind me.

Well, if I weren't pregnant, Yahiko would be right. But because I was so close to my due date, I really didn't want to risk it.

I tried to force myself to calm down, and I plastered a smile on my face. Sano seemed to relax somewhat – Yahiko's comment made him painfully aware of how vengeful I could be – but my smile turned cold. _You will pay, _I mentally communicated to him. He seemed to get the message. I extended a hand to him regally, and he looked at my open palm with a confused expression.  
"What?"  
"Something to clean myself up with, please." I asked through clenched teeth.

He grinned cockily at me. "Nah, you look better this way."

Ok, I'm not proud to admit it, but I snapped. If Kenshin didn't grab my arms at the right moment, I would have been hitting Sano so hard, he'd be transported to the next galaxy.

Kenshin dragged me upstairs while I spat and shout curses at my self-satisfied twin. It was only when he locked the door that my other senses kicked in. We were in the master bathroom, and _damn _did Meg know how to decorate a place. It was all marble, and made for luxury and comfort. Kenshin was at the sink, and the water was running before I could ask him what he was doing, he turned around and I saw the damp towel in his hand. With slow and gentle movements, he wiped the cake and icing from my face as if I were a child. I scrunched my face as the rough towel scraped my face, but didn't complain. When my face felt clean, Kenshin rocked back on his heels and gave me a smile.  
"There we go. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find you underneath all that cake."

I blushed. His close proximity to me made me think of our…ahem, kiss…earlier that night. Obviously his thoughts went in that direction too, because his eyes began to burn gold. I bit my lip as he leaned closer, but as I expected his mouth to meet mine his head suddenly ducked. I was puzzled for a split second, but then I felt his tongue flick out on my neck.

Red flared from my toes to my face and back down as I realised what he was doing. He looked up at me, mischief in his eyes. "Sano was right. The cake is…delicious." I felt his tongue against my skin again, and then his lips as they traced the line of my neck to my shoulder. Breathing became hard as he made his way back up to my face, and I just wished that those soft lips that were caressing my neck was on mine, gosh dang it!  
As I felt his hot breath on my chin, I turned my face eagerly to his. He raised an eyebrow, but must have seen my expression because his lips descended onto mine hungrily.

At that moment, I didn't care if I was covered in cake or gold. All I was aware of was Kenshin's warm lips on mine, his tongue mingling with my own, his hot hands tracing my body…at that moment, I truly felt wanted.

An incessant knocking pierced my consciousness and I felt annoyance rising in my breast. I tried to ignore it, but unfortunately, when Sano wants to be heard, he'll be heard.

"Kenshin you sneaky bastard! I swear, if you lay a finger on my sister while she's in there with you I'll-"

"Sano, shush. Don't you know that they're together?" Meg's vice floated through the door as well, and I sighed in exasperation. Kenshin leaned back and gave me a rueful smile.

"We'll finish this later," He promised, and I felt heat rise in…certain places (including my face) in my body at his husky tone.

"Why else do you think I don't want them alone?" Sano yelled back at Megumi. "Kenshin, dammit, if you don't open this door right now, I'm gonna kick it down!"  
"You will do no such thing!" Megumi screamed at him. "This is wood imported from Italy!"

In a more subdued tone, Sano added: "I'll kick it down, and Megumi will murder both of us!"  
I heard the slap even from inside the bathroom, and winced. However, I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. He deserved it.

"Ok, ok, fine! I'll get Megumi to get the key! How's that?"

Kenshin chuckled and lightly brushed his lips against mine. "I think we kept them waiting long enough." He murmured. I nodded and in a smooth movement, he got up and opened the door.

Sano's mouth was open as if he was about to start scream something again, the bright red handprint from Meg's slap visible on his face. Megumi looked pissed, but when she met my gaze, I swear a pair of fox ears appeared. "Had fun? Ohohoho."

I flushed and tried to regain my composure, which was virtually impossible to do with Kenshin so close to me.

Sano, on the other hand, was shoving his finger in Kenshin's face. "What were you doing to her?" He demanded.

Kenshin raised his hands in innocence. "Nothing…much."

I saw a vein pop in Sano's forehead and he lunged towards Kenshin. Kenshin, however, was too fast for him and easily dodged. Sano began chasing Kenshin down the hallway and I giggled at Kenshin's frazzled face. I was surprised at his brazenness, but then again after his kisses, I felt my confidence rise as well. Maybe I had the same effect on Kenshin?

I shook my head.

Impossible.

Megumi and I heard a crash, and I saw her freeze. Her eyes reflected the light of hell as she marched out of the bathroom, and I felt sorry for the two boys.

"What the hell is this?" She yelled. I followed her at a slower pace, my lower stomach cramping slightly. I dismissed the slight pain, figuring it'll go away eventually.

"It's all Kenshin's fault." I heard Sano say, and when I saw him, his head was bowed. He looked very much like he did when mother reprimanded him. I looked at Kenshin, and he didn't even deny the accusation. However, judging from Sano's expression, I assumed he was lying.

Megumi seemed to come to the same conclusion, and she took an old fashioned base ball bat (where in the seven hells did she get THAT?) and hit him on the head with it. He slumped onto the floor, drool trickling out of his open mouth. A bump was visible on his head.

Megumi turned her attention to Kenshin, and he shied away from her. "Do you have anything to say?"

The cramp hit again, a bit more severe this time. I grabbed a hold of the nearest wall, my right hand gently massaging my stomach. What was happening? I felt another cramp, and a small, "Oh," escaped my lips. Liquid cascaded down the inside of my legs and pooled on the floor. I looked at it in surprise.

"…My water just broke," I said softly.

No-one heard me.

"Oro…" Kenshin leaned away from Megumi's killing aura, and she raised the bloody bat.

"My water just broke!" I screamed, my voice frantic. Panic tightened my chest. It was too early! He was a whole month early! Was this even possible?

Meumi stopped what she was doing and immediately turned into the concerned doctor. 'Are you sure, Kaoru?"

"Yes!" I screeched back at her. "I didn't just pee my pants!"

Megumi looked at the puddle of water at her feet, and he face blached. Then the cool, capable doctor appeared.

"Sano, Kenshin, get up. Sano, I want you to get the car, and Kenshin I want you to call the hospital. Tell them that Doctor Takani is coming in with a woman in labour."

* * *

So guess who has been reading a bit too much smut manga lately? *raises hand guiltily* Can't you tell? ;) Review please!


	18. Hibiki

"…Oro?" Kenshin said again. He looked at Megumi, then at me. Understanding dawned on his face, then his eyes widened. "Oh. Oh! Right, Dr. Megumi, I'll do that. Are you sure? Is Kaoru ok?"

I was bent over, shock and the cramps racking my body. Megumi put my arm around her and supported me. "She's fine, Kenshin. Call the hospital!"

"Yes, yes, hospital…phone, where's a phone?"

"A phone? Kenshin, are you still living in the early twenty-first century? Use your communication device!"

He gave her a blank look, which, on any other day, I would have thought adorable.

"On your wrist, baka!" I yelled as another cramp hit me.

He jumped slightly, then nodded frantically. "Right!" He then noticed Sano standing, dumbfounded, at his side. Kenshin tapped his forehead with his knuckles. "Get the car!"

Sano shook his head as if to clear it, then nodded. His face was focussed, as if he was about to start a fight. He ran down the stairs and disappeared. Meg continued to support me, and I felt someone under my other arm. I looked and saw Kenshin, who gave me a wan smile. He kissed my cheek gently. "It's all right. The hospital is expecting you. I'm here."

I nodded my head and allowed both of them to walk me down the stairs. We attracted a lot of attention, especially because I was groaning in pain, but no-one bothered us. When I looked to see why, I noticed Misao and Aoshi pushing everyone back. She flashed me a wink and a thumbs-up, and then, noticing a guy from my anatomy class walking towards us, began to curse him with very unladylike language.

The cool night air brushed my slightly sweating neck, and I abruptly wished I was in pants. Sano was already waiting for us, jingling the car keys nervously. When he saw us, Megumi released me from her side and he took her place. Quickly slinging me into his arms so he carried me bridal style, he ran me to the car. He bundled us both into the back seat – none too gently – and slammed the door behind us. Kenshin took the wheel, and Megumi sat in the front seat.

She turned to me, her face serious. "Breathe, Kaoru."

I was huffing, sweat gathering on my brow. Sano's arms instinctually tightened around me, his jaw tense. He wanted to protect me, I knew, from the pain I was going through. "I – am – trying." I panted, trying to take a deep breath. Another contraction came, and I almost yelled in pain. Instead, I just whimpered.

"Can't you go any faster?" Sano screamed, tension clear on every line of his face.

"I'm going as fast as I can. We'll be there in a few minutes." Kenshin answered, his voice terse.

"Kaoru, I know it hurts honey, but we'll be at the hospital soon. Your contractions are coming faster and are lasting longer; you're probably going to give birth soon."

I moaned as another contraction hit me, and my hands curled around my stomach. "Kenshin, hurry," I whimpered, wishing I was in my bed.

"Damn, what I'll give to see how much you're dilated…" Megumi muttered, looking at me with calculating eyes.

"We're here!" Kenshin announced, jerking the car to a stop. Before the car was even in park, Sano had the door open and was carrying me out. Nurses began to swarm towards him, one wheeling a wheel chair.

I looked at it in despair. "Do I really have to sit in that?"

Sano shook his head. "No, I'll carry you."

"Sir, that's against proto-" A nurse began, but Megumi cut her off.

"She's my patient, and I say it's all right. Have you prepared a room?"

The nurse who was cut off looked peeved, but she nodded her head. "This way please." She led the way to a small room in the back, which looked clean and tidy. And way too small for all the people cramming in here.

Sano placed me gently on the bed, putting his cool hand on my forehead. "Breathe, Kaoru."

"Sir, are you the father?" The annoying nurse asked.

Sano glared at her. "No, I'm her twin. Got a problem, eh, old hag?"

The nurse bristled, but a resounding bang stopped whatever she was about to retort. Sano turned angrily on Megumi.

"Get out." Megumi's voice was ice cold, and her expression spelled murder. Sano immediately backed down.

He leaned over me and kissed my forehead. "Stay strong, lil sis."

I gripped his hand in mine. "See ya in a few," I promised weakly. Another contraction took a hold of me and I winced. I didn't even get to see Sano leave the room.

"How much time was that?" I heard Megumi ask someone as she pulled on her scrubs and a surgical mask. Rubber gloves up to her elbows were placed on her hands, and she looked a bit like a mad scientist. I almost wanted to laugh at the ludicrous thought.

"Approximately five minutes, Doctor Takani."

Meg's face was grim. "All right. She's coming to the end of her early labour. How dilated is she?"  
A nurse blabbed a number that I couldn't hear over the sound of my scream. I felt someone grip my hand, and I turned and looked at Megumi. Her mask was off and she gave me a wan smile. "Soon, Kaoru, soon."

I nodded, biting my bottom lip. I can live through this. I will live through this.

"Four centimetres!" A nurse yelled. "She's dilated to four centimetres!"

Megumi snapped back on her mask and went to where they had propped my legs up. Any other day I would have felt extremely self conscious that anyone would be looking _down there _but right now, I didn't care. They could look all they liked, I bet it was a mess anyways.

My contractions came faster and lasted longer. My medical brain told me that it meant the baby was coming soon, but my body just wanted to know how soon. I could barely speak, and was trying hard not to screech with pain. A nurse had given me something to clamp my teeth on, and it helped. It really did. Meg kept saying my dilated length as if it were a countdown, well, in a way, I'm sure it was.

"She's at eight centimetres!" Someone announced. "She's about to transition!" As she had said that, my longest contraction happened. I screamed and gritted my teeth, waiting for it to end. And when I thought it did, another one came. And another.

"She's almost fully dilated!" Someone else said.

Megumi's voice cut through my yell. "Kaoru, when I tell you to push, I want you to push, ok?"

I nodded frantically to tell her that I heard. After what felt like an eternity, I heard her scream: "Ok, push!"

I pushed. I pushed because I felt my life, and the life of Megumi's baby, depended on it. For some reason, the contractions seemed easier to bear, but that didn't make the pain any less. I pushed when I felt to push, and rested in between. In art, I was happy for the rest – it really gave me a chance to breathe. Meg kept urging me to push, so I did. I felt him move further and further down, until I heard Meg yell, "He's coming!"

I knew that meant the crown of my baby's head was about to appear, and a relieved smile broke out on my face. My labour period was almost done!

"Ok, Kaoru, I want you to stop pushing for a second. That's right…good girl. Ok, breathe, breathe, in and out, in and out…ok, now…push."

"She's crowning!" A nurse announced, in accompaniment to my long and drawn out scream.

"You're doing great, Kaoru! That's it! I can see his eyes!" Meg gave me a play-by-play of every part of him that came out as I pushed and pushed. Finally, with one last yell and push, I felt all the pressure disappear.

Meg laughed, a joyous sound, and I saw the nurses wrap a small, blood-covered thing in a blue blanket. Was that him? Was that Megumi's baby?

Megumi turned to me, her dark eyes shining in joy. I smiled back at her, tears cascading down my face and sweat pouring into my eyes, but I didn't care. I was so happy to see that Megumi finally got what she had wanted for all these years.

The nurses clamped and cut the umbilical cord, and then Megumi handed him to me. They had placed a little blue hat on his head, and his sleeping face was so peaceful. I held him in my arms awkwardly.

"Is this ok?" I asked, looking up to Megumi. "He's yours, after all."

Megumi's smile was gentle. "Yeah, but you did all the work. I figured you could hold him for a little while." Her expression became really sad. "After all, I'm-"

She was cut off as the door slammed open. "Kaoru! Are you all right? OHMYGOSHISTHATHIMHE'SOADORABLE!" I winced at Misao's loud voice, but I couldn't stop her from coming over and cooing over the baby.

Aoshi shot Megumi and I an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry. I tried to stop her…"

"…but wild bulls couldn't hold her back." Megumi finished.

However, I wasn't paying attention to them. I was looking instead to the two men who were walking in. I gave them both a huge smile. "Look!"

Sano rolled his eyes. "He's such a wimp."

A vein twitched in my forehead. "How can you say that? He's been alive for less than an hour."

"Look how tiny he is!"

"Well, duh! He's premature!"  
"Plus, look how small his parents are," Megumi pointed out, gesturing to Kenshin and I. Then she froze. "…Oops." Even though her tone was rueful, I'm sure I saw fox ears appear.

"What?" Sano's voice was dangerously low and I felt the heat rising off of him in waves. I gave Kenshin a worried look. He had immediately come to my side, and his hand was now gripped in mine as he looked at the babe in my arms. He paid Sano no heed, his violet eyes serious as he looked at his son.

Then, without any warning whatsoever, he kissed me full on the lips. I was sure Sano was going to murder him for it right then and there, but I was too captivated by Kenshin's eyes to care. "Kaoru," he said, his face and voice all seriousness. "I know you must be overwhelmed right now and I know you have a lot of plans for the future, but please…don't let him go."

Him? Who? Then I looked at the small bundle of joy in my arms. Oh. "Um, why?"

"Because he's ours."

I shook my head adamantly. "No, he's Megumi's. He's a Takani. Can't you tell by his hair?" I said, stubbornly. I removed the hat, showing a little tuft of black hair.

"But…" Kenshin looked desperate.

I gave him a stern look. "No buts. He's Megumi's."

"Hibiki."

"…What?" I looked at Megumi, surprised.

She had tears falling down her face, and she looked so happy that I wanted to cry too. "His name is Hibiki. Hibiki Takani." She took him back, her face tender but sad. "And, I'm sorry to say, but he's coming with me to London."

* * *

Ah, a cliffie. I told you guys that these chappies will be shorter, right? Well, they will be. I _am _wrapping it up, after all.

All the information came from babycenter . com

Review please!


	19. To London!

My movement were precise, my whole concentration focussed on the task at hand. I folded my shirt in thirds, then in half, then carefully placed it into the bag. Repeat.

Hibiki had a little bit of complications since he was so premature, but with the help of Megumi and the other fantastic doctors here, after a week he – and I – were finally free to go home.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up at Kenshin. He gave me a small smile and gently pecked my lips. At that moment, I truly felt we were a married couple who just had their firstborn. Except, our baby wasn't coming with us or even staying in the country. Instead, he was flying to London with his mother within the week.

Just as I had been trying not to remember.

* * *

"_London?" Everyone screamed, shock showing on everyone's faces. At least I knew I wasn't the only one who didn't know. Even Sano looked dumbfounded, his vendetta against Kenshin forgotten. _

_Hibiki wailed, and Megumi began to bounce up and down and shushing the babe. When he seemed to have calmed down slightly, she handed him off to a nurse and watched them disappear with worried eyes. She already seemed like a mother. _

"_Yes. I got a job offer, and I would be a fool to turn it down."_

_Sano took her hand, and I swear I wanted to cry when I saw his expression. Megumi was Sano's first real relationship after his junior high school sweetheart died in a car crash. I knew he missed Sayo to the day, but Megumi really helped him get over her death. "Meg, are you sure? When did you get it?"  
She nodded her head, tears beginning to gather in her eyes. She took a deep breath and steeled herself, closing her eyes. When she reopened them, you couldn't find a trace of her tears. "I received it a few months ago, and I thought it was the best option. I knew I was getting too involved with all of you, and I'm selfish. I want Hibiki to grow up separately from his…parents." At that, she glanced at Kenshin and I. _

_I felt guilt well in my chest. This was all my fault! If only I hadn't been so needy, so pathetic…Kami, why? My decision to see Kenshin so long ago was coming and biting me in the butt again. _

_Megumi saw the expression on my face and rushed to my side. She kissed my forehead, and hugged me as I cried into her chest. "No, it's not your fault. It really isn't. Even if you and Kenshin had never met again, I would have still accepted the offer." She leaned back and brushed a tear from my cheek. "Understand: it was my ambition and selfishness that made this choice."_

_I nodded, but it didn't help. I knew a part of it must have been a result of my actions, too. _

_Megumi went around and hugged everyone, and tears began falling freely down everyone's faces. The only one who was conspicuously absent was Sano. That stupid brother of mine! Megumi looked around for him, but when she noticed he was gone, her face fell. At that moment in time, I really hated him. Even though he was really sweet and considerate earlier tonight, this really nullified his sweet older brother actions. _

_Kenshin realised my hand was shaking in anger, and took it. "What's wrong?"_

"_That baka!" I hissed. Kenshin knew who I was talking about, and he bent his head. Tears began streaming down my face again, and I wiped them away angrily. "Megumi needs him now, and he disappears!"_

"_I understand what he's feeling," Kenshin whispered. _

_My head snapped up at that. "What?"  
He gave me a half-hearted smile. "If I heard you were moving away and didn't tell me anything, I'd be pissed, too. And I'd feel as if I was betrayed, used."_

_I bent my head, a frown on my face. I tried to put myself in Sano's shoes, but couldn't. He was just being stupid! But, a small part of me wanted to understand his feelings. _

_I shook my head to rid it of these thoughts. "Anyways, Kenshin…where were you?"  
He gave me a confused look. "Oro?"_

"_Ah, during the birth. Sano was kicked out, but I don't remember you following us out of the car."_

"_Ah," he rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "I parked the car, and when I tried to enter the birthing room, the nurses wouldn't allow me. One of them was really rude."_

_I grinned at him. "I think I know who you're talking about. She tried to kick San out, I think." _

_He gave me a confused look. "But I saw him in the waiting room…"_

"_Yeah, Megumi threw him out."_

"_Ah," he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Then his face became sad again, and we both looked at Megumi. She was curled up on the couch, with Aoshi's arm around her. She looked exhausted. Her dark eyes met mine, and she gave me a wan smile. Even though Sano wasn't next to her, she seemed as if she was going to be ok. _

_Too bad her smile never reached her eyes._

* * *

I felt Kenshin's hand on my cheek, and looked up at him, surprised. He folded me into his arms, and I brought my hand to my face. I was shocked to feel wetness there. Why was I crying?

"Kaoru, if you really didn't want to part with Hibiki, you should tell Megumi that. I'm sure she'll abide to your wishes."

I jerked away from Kenshin and did something I never thought I would- I slapped him. Surprise and hurt flitted across his face in quick succession, but my jaw was set. "Do you really think that I would ever go back on my word? Ever? Plus, didn't I tell you? He's a Takani. Megumi mixed some of her genes in there. I suspect he'll begin to resemble her eventually."

Kenshin looked relieved, somewhat. "Ah. And here it thought we were giving away a child of ours, when we're perfectly capable of taking care of him ourselves…"

I laughed. "Who's capable? Last I checked we're both in school."

He grinned at me. "Looks like you forgot- I graduated already."

I staggered back, dumbfounded. "Seriously?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I'm trying to find some sort of work that involves a lot of travel, but it seems as if it's impossible. So I'm thinking of starting my own dojo and just travelling often, when I can."

"Well, wow. Kenshin, that's great!" I flew at him and hugged him, happy that he had found something that I'm sure he and Hiko could agree on. And also something that involved him staying where he was, and near me. That may have been a bit selfish, but I don't care.

He laughed as he lifted me. "Yeah. Hiko is really excited – he won't show me, but I know, and Misao is looking forward to people calling her 'sensei'."

"Would you do me a favour?" I asked, my mind returning to my baka twin again. "Could you employ Sano? He's a really great fighter."

Kenshin looked ponderous. "Well, I was actually thinking of something else for him…"

* * *

Sano was in his room, as I suspected he would be. He hadn't come to help me move out of the hospital, and hadn't welcomed me home. Yahiko was all abuzz with information about people stopping by and giving me well wishes (they didn't know Megumi adopted the baby already, my head hurts just thinking about the explanations I would need to say) and the gifts they had left (do I have to give these to Megumi?) but Sano was nowhere to be seen.

Baka brother.

I charged into his room, opening the door with a bang. He didn't even look up at me, only turned onto his side so his back would be to me. A vein twitched in my forehead, and I body slammed him. If no-one had noticed, I was really happy to not be toting around an extra six pounds…and more, considering all the crap that was also in my body, and the bit of fat I gained (ugh).

He sat up quickly, a scowl on his face. "What the hell, Kaoru?"  
I gave him an innocent smile. "I can't celebrate me coming home?"

He growled, rolled his eyes and sank back into his bed. "Just, leave me alone."

I bit my lip. I guess Sano really was taking Megumi's departure really hard. I sighed and patted his back. "Hey Sano."

"What?"

"If Megumi wasn't leaving, what would you do?"

He didn't answer for such a long time, I thought he never would. I stood to leave, unwilling to push him on this. I felt a tug on the back of my shirt and looked at Sano, an eyebrow raised.

"I probably would have asked her to marry me," he answered, his face tinted pink. "But it doesn't matter now." He turned away from me, and I let him rest. He had a lot on his mind…and I think I just got why Kenshin had suggested what he had.

* * *

To say that Sano's funk affected the house's atmosphere was a severe understatement. I felt as if there was a thundercloud over the whole house for the week, and I chafed under Kenshin's orders to "let him be." Kami, I wanted to hit him so much! He was being really stupid.

Finally, Saturday came. Kenshin pulled up in front of our house, and Misao and Aoshi traipsed out. Tomorrow was the day Megumi and Hibiki officially moved to London, but she said she didn't want to see us tonight…which was why everyone else decided to have dinner at my house. I wasn't cooking, though. When I had suggested it, everyone freaked and Misao had literally pinned me down – as if pinning me down was going to stop me from continuing with the thought.

Aoshi and Kenshin greeted Yahiko and Sano, and went immediately into the kitchen. I had everything out already, so all that was left was for them to be cooked and prepared.

I followed after them, eager to see what they were going to do, when Aoshi noticed me. "No."

"Please? I promise I'll just look."

His serious blue eyes latched onto mine. "No."

I huffed, but walked out. Plus, tonight was all about Sano- he just didn't know it yet. Misao and Yahiko were doing their best to get him out of his room, coaxing, jibing and then downright insulting him, but he didn't budge.

I walked in calmly, giving Yahiko a thumbs up. I think he looked worried for a second, but I had already turned to face Sano, my hands on my hips.

"Ok, you stupid brother of mine. Get out of bed."

"Don't wanna."

"We have guests."

"I realised."

"Don't you want to eat?"

"If you're cooking, then no." I tried very hard not to hit him.

Through clenched teeth, I managed to say, "No, Kenshin and Aoshi are cooking."

"So what?"

"So, it's actually edible," Yahiko said behind me. I didn't hesitate to hit him.

Sano snorted, and I felt a bit of the concern I had felt over him in the past few days subside a little. If Sano was able to laugh, that means everything was going to get a little better, right?

I heard Kenshin announce dinner was ready, and extended a hand to Sano. "Come on. Dinner's served."

Sano looked at my hand and shook his head. "Nah, I'm not hungry."

"Sanosuke Kamiya is not hungry?" Misao shouted, stumbling back a few steps. "Whut?"

Sano gave her a sharp look. "So what? I'm not feeling well."

I bashed him on the head. "You're really annoying, you know that?" I yelled. I grabbed his ear and dragged him outside, and plopped him in front of his seat.

He began to argue with me, until he saw the piece of paper on his plate. "Wha-?" He opened it, and his eyes grew wide. "Guys, I can't do this."

I gave him a smile that I hoped was supportive and didn't show my sadness. "It's fine, really. You have been miserable these past few days."

"Does Megumi know?"

I managed to look sheepish. "No, it's a surprise for both of you."

"So you're just going to let me go to London?" He asked, eyebrow raised. "What about all the expenses around here?"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I work, and Megumi said she'll pay for my medical school. Also, Yahiko's girlfriend has offered for him to be the busboy in the Akabeko. We'll be fine. Really."

"But I can't just leave you-"

"Then think of it this way. You're going to London to take care of your nephew. Megumi is an added bonus. Think of it as a mission." Kenshin interjected.

Sano seemed to contemplate it a little more. "Are you really ok with this?" He asked, hope alighting in his dark brown eyes.

I rolled my eyes and hugged him. "Think I would have organised all of this without being all right with it? Now, go. But make sure you come back."

I felt really proud of myself when I didn't cry that night. However, what crying I didn't do I made up in spades the next day, when he actually left. Of course, I never allowed him to see me crying. When he, Megumi and Hibiki boarded the transporter and disappeared in a flash of light, I was able to see them off with a smiling face.

But I cried the whole way home and throughout the whole night. Thank Kami Kenshin and Yahiko were there, or else I would have never been able to live through it.

And that was the last I saw of my twin for years.

* * *

Reviews are appreciated :D

Next chapter: the finale!


	20. A new beginning

"Mummy, mummy, come look!"

I waved Kenji away, craning my neck to get a good look at the transporter. I felt a hand at my lower back and I absentmindedly leaned my head on Kenshin's shoulder.

"You shouldn't ignore him, you know," he whispered, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine.

"He has a mother complex. He needs to grow out of it." I snapped back.

Kenshin chuckled and walked to Kenji, lifting the little boy in the air. Kenji giggled, and began playing with Kenshin's shorter hair. He had recently cut it, since our darling seven-year old son had placed a piece of chewing gum in his hair. When I was hacking the offending piece of _ick_ out of Kenshin's hair did I realise why Singapore had outlawed it all those years ago. Kenji was not allowed near the stuff again.

Gosh dang, where were they? They said three o'clock. Or did they mean their time? But if it was their time, then why bother tell us? Megumi was smarter than that twin of mine, and she surely would have told him to tell us the time in our time, unless he wanted to be an idiot and totally screw us over. Now that I thought about it, he probably did just that. Damn him. Well, if he didn't want a free ride to their new home, then he could suit himself. Though, I couldn't see Megumi being too happy about that.

Just when I was about to give up, I heard the sound of a familiar voice. "Hey there, sis! You're on time, for once!"

I turned around slowly. After not seeing him for ten years, I was surprised that his voice hadn't changed. A part of me wanted to think it was a dream, but what I saw before me wasn't a dream.

Though I'm surprised Megumi allowed him to grow his hair that long.

I cried out and flew into his arms, squeezing him with all my might. "Sano! You baka brother, not a single call for ten years!"

He laughed. "Hey, Megumi called every week!"

"Yeah, but you never did," I replied, smacking him on the arm.

He grinned at me. "Nice to see marriage tamed you, somewhat. Ten years ago, you would have punched me through the wall for something like that."

"Don't put it past me to not do it now," I retorted, a smile on my face. I looked around the big goof and saw Megumi. I ran and embraced her, extremely happy to see her as well.

"So, how's it like being a doctor, _Doctor _Kamiya?" She asked, a twinkle in her eyes.

"It's about as good as it gets." I replied, hugging her again. "Though seeing you two certainly tops it."

Sano laughed. "Well, you better get used to seeing Megumi. She's your new head surgeon."

I gaped at her. "Was that why you came back?"

She nodded her head. "Well, that, and I wanted Hibiki to grow up in the same town I did."

My heart got stuck in my throat. "Where is the kiddo?"

Megumi gave me a comprehending smile. "Hibiki, dear? Do you want to come out and greet your Aunt Kaoru?"

Hibiki stepped out from the transporter. Even though he was only ten years old, I could already tell that he was a dashingly handsome boy. And he'll be taller than Kenshin or I - must be the Takani genes, or something. His hair was jet black and straight, held back in a ponytail. Honestly, the style reminded me of the samurai of old. But the most striking feature were his eyes – deep, violet-blue coloured eyes. They looked like a perfect mix between Kenshin's gorgeous eyes and mine.

I gasped when I saw him, and walked over to him slowly as if in a trance. "Hibiki?" I asked.

He nodded his head, his eyes wary. "Hello, Aunt Kaoru."

I squealed and embraced him. "How cute! He has a British accent! Hibiki, you have to promise your aunt that you will _never _outgrow your accent, ok?"

He grunted a response, and I laughed. The antic was so Sano-like that I had no doubt that he was raised by my twin.

"Well, considering that I am going to be spending more time in the States than I did in London, I'm going to assume that may be a nigh impossible task," he stated.

I squealed again and hugged him. "You're so adorable! Everything you say sounds intelligent. Damn, I should have gotten me a British man!" I heard a polite cough behind me, and spun to look at Kenshin, an indignant look on my face. "What? It's the truth."

He grinned at me, and in a perfect British accent, said, "Well, if it's British you want, it's British you got."

My jaw dropped. "Why haven't you showed me this particular skill before, mister?" I practically yelled.

"I never knew you liked it."

I rolled my eyes and draped my hand over my nephew's shoulder. "So, Hibiki, quick question. Do you call Sano 'dad' or 'uncle'?" Sanosuke and Megumi had gotten married two years after they had moved to London (of course, Megumi proposed).

At the same time, Hibiki answered, "Uncle," and Sano answered, "Daddy."

Hibiki flared up instantly. "That was when I was younger!" He pointed to Kenshin. "He has more of a chance being my father than you!"

Everyone froze, before Megumi laughed nervously. "Hibiki dear, what did I tell you about creating a scene?"

"Yeah kiddo, seriously. Stop being so uptight," Sano joked, ruffling his son's hair. How else could I think of them? "Now stop being stubborn and give your daddy a hug."

Hibiki rolled his eyes, a blush colouring his cheeks. "No."

"C'mon, I'm sure your cousin hugs his daddy all the time!" Sano whined.

At that Kenji, who had been in Kenshin's arms the whole time, shook his head. "No, I like to hug mummy more."

In all honesty, Kenji looked a lot more like Kenshin than he did me. The only thing he got from me was my eyes- his hair was just as red as Kenshin's, maybe a shade darker, but his eyes were the deep blue eyes I have.

Sano laughed. "We have a mummy's boy there."

I grinned at him. "And I think Hibiki is a daddy's boy," I said with a wink. It was true. As soon as Hibiki had exited the transporter, he had practically pasted himself to Sano's side. He was in the awkward stage where he didn't want to be so attached to his parents anymore, but a blind person could see that he adored his adoptive father.

Hibiki jumped away from Sano and pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Who would want to be attached to him? He's vulgar! And he's always eating!"

Megumi raised her hand and I cringed. A resounding slap echoed through the transporter terminal, and Hibiki looked shocked. She had only hit the upside of his head, but I guess he didn't receive much 'Megumi love'.

He looked at his mother - who had a stern look on her face - and then did a half bow to Sano. "My apologies. I was out of line."

Megumi looked smug and winked me. I groaned internally. She had both of her men on a short leash…and I couldn't help but wonder what I had gotten them both into.

Megumi walked over to me and hugged me again. "He's like you in some aspects, but sometimes I wonder if he's really mine."

I gave her a smile. "Of course he's yours. I can tell. He's yours and Sano's."

Megumi snorted, and linked my arm with hers and we began walking away from the men, leaving the baggage and such to them. "That buffoon's? In their dreams." She then rubbed my protruding belly. "When are you expecting?"

I blushed slightly. "In four months. Kenshin and I didn't think we were ready for Kenji, but he kinda just…happened."

I saw a pair of fox ears appear on her head. "Hohohoho. He was an _accident,_" she whispered.

I blushed even harder. "No, he was totally on purpose. We just didn't really…" I stopped as Megumi's chuckles grew. "Fine, he was an accident. I miscounted my fertile days." I was sure my face was bright red.

"Well, he's an adorable child."

I beamed. "So is Hibiki. Oh, you should meet Aoshi and Misao's baby girl. The most spirited toddler I have ever seen. The other day she threw herself off of a balcony into her mother's arms, claiming she was a ninja. Misao was delighted. Hiko nearly died, and Aoshi…well, it's a good thing he wasn't there."

Megumi laughed. "Ah, it'll be good to see them all again. And where's Yahiko?"

It was my turn to look sly. "He's on his honeymoon."

Megumi raised her eyebrows. "Oh? With whom? That same mousey girl?"

I grinned and nodded. "He's so protective over her. And you should have been here three years ago! There was a big drama between him and another guy to win Tsubaki's heart. Kenji was four at the time, and you should have seen him and Yahiko getting all fired up against this boy. I was tempted to take Kenji away from Yahiko for a little while until it calmed down, but Kenshin assured me that he'll be fine."

Megumi sighed happily. "I'm so glad to be home."

"We're so happy to have you back. I can't believe you didn't visit us once! I missed all of you."

Megumi looked abashed for a second. "Well, I wanted to raise Hibiki…away from you."

I gave her a confused look. "Why?"

She looked away and bit her lip. "I was afraid you might want to take him back. Or he might suspect you of being his mother. I guess I was jealous."

I laughed, and she looked at me as if I was crazy. "Really? You have no worries there. I believe whole heartedly that he is your son. Except for his eyes, he doesn't resemble either of us at all. He's your son, through and through."

Megumi gave me a bright smile. "Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

"Oi, where is the damned car?"

Megumi's eyes snapped in anger. "Watch your language!" She yelled at him. He was balancing two suitcases on one shoulder, and had another in his hand.

"Well then carry your own luggage, woman!" He roared back.

"Oro, I'm sure we can find a compromise here-" Kenshin started, burdened by his own bags.

"Stay out of it!" Megumi and Sano yelled at the same time.

Kenshin was physically pushed backwards from the verbal assault, and Kenji, who was clinging onto his back like a monkey, fell off and onto his backside. I rushed towards him and scooped him into my arms. "Are you all right, honey?"

He looked at me with his deep blue eyes, and nodded his head. He looked like he was holding back tears, and I saw him steal a glance at his cousin. Hibiki was holding two bags and had an exasperated look on his face as his parents argued. Intuition kicked in, and I instinctually knew Kenji was trying to act cool in front of his cousin.

I grinned at him and gave him a hug. "So what do you think of your cousin, dear?"

He crossed his arms. "He's all right."

I chuckled. "Well, you better get used to him. They're moving in next to us."

* * *

_Fin._

* * *

Lame ending is lame.

But otherwise, I am quite happy with how this turned out XD If you wanna see how I pictured Hibiki, look up 'Kanda Yuu' from D. Gray Man (and if you haven't read it yet, I highly suggest you do. I based most of Hibiki off of him. It's a really good manga, even if it takes a little while to start .)

I want to thank each and every one of you for sticking with me throughout this story! I have over 100 reviews for this story, which is a helluva lot for me. If I could give you all hugs and cookies, I so would- especially because you had to put up with my random updates that were few and far between. So thank you!

I hoped you all enjoyed this as much as I did. This is by far my favourite RK fic to write, and I hope it showed!

So, THANK YOU!


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